The Shadow Of Pallet
by JinxJenks
Summary: A boy sets out on his journey with his new Pokemon and his best friend, many obstacles will stand in their way of the Pokemon League, and the Infamous Team Rocket won't help matters, but with the power of their Pokemon and the swiftness of their friendship no one can stop them... although the Pokemon world is a much darker place than they thought. (I do not own Pokemon)
1. Shadow

**The Shadow of Pallet…**

"Honey!" shouted Louis's Mother from down stairs, "Professor Oak wanted to speak to you; wake up!" Louis opened his eyes wide and smiled, today was the day. He was thirteen now which meant he would have to start his journey later than the other kids, such as his friend Red who had started his journey through the Pokémon League five days prior to now. He bounded out of his bed and threw the covers on the ground without a care in the world except for finding out what his first Pokémon would be. He shrugged on his black hoodie with thick sky blue stripes going horizontal, over his yellow T-shirt. He grabbed his baggy pair of dark gray cargo pants and put those on with his blue sneakers. He ran by his desk and grabbed his pair of sky blue goggles and put them on his head atop his dark brown hair. His hair was long and it created wings as it grew off to the side. He also grabbed the PokéBall that his father had given him before he left, a Premier Ball, completely white with a ring of red going around the center of the capsule. He trampled the floorboards beneath his eager feet as he made his way down the stairs to his mother.

"Hi Mom," he grabbed a juice box out of her hand as he ran by, "Bye Mom!" he opened the door to the morning sun shining in his face to his left, he finished his drink and threw it into nearby trash bin and began the run to Professor Oak's lab. He had been waiting for this day his whole life; Louis's father had become the champion of the Pokémon league at the age of thirteen himself and Louis was looking to follow in his footsteps. He had a legacy to live up to and no one was going to keep him from it. Louis had always wondered to himself_, what if these Pokémon don't like fighting for us? Should we still make them fight if they do?_ But his father had waved his concerns away by telling him how if his Pokémon trusted him enough they would do anything for him, and likely enjoy it to boot. It took a few minutes but he finally arrived at Professor Oak's Laboratory. The large white building towered above all else in Pallet town, not like anyone minded however. Louis opened the door to his lab and saw numerous research assistants tending to different types of machinery and technology that Louis had no idea even existed.

"Ah! There you are Louis." Professor Oak stood with a large black egg with gray spots in his hands.

"Hi Professor!" he waved. Louis walked over to the other side of the room with Professor Oak and they sat down in two very comfy swivel chairs. Oak sat the egg down in between the two of them.

"Now, this is a Pokémon egg, see…" he pointed to the egg as it shook slightly.

"It moved!" exclaimed Louis, Oak let out a small giggle and then composed himself.

"I received this egg with a note a night ago and it seems to be from your Dad.

"What's it say Doc?"

"It said that he would like you to have it and that he thinks it may be the egg of his own Umbreon, although I'm not sure why an Eevee egg would have such strange coloration?"

"What does it usually—" the egg began to crack.

"By golly it's actually hatching!" little by little the egg began to crack all around and then it began glowing.

"What's happening Professor!?" questioned Louis.

"Pokémon eggs don't hatch, they 'Evolve'." Just then the egg began to morph into the shape of an Eevee, and…

"E~evee!" said the hatchling. The professor had a look of misperception on his face. Louis didn't notice anything wrong.

"Oh my god it's so cu~u~ute!" he said. Professor Oak was rubbing his chin and mumbling to himself.

"Good news Louis." He looked up as he was playing with his new friend, "I think your new Eevee may be 'Shiny'." Louis had studied Pokémon physiology before in Pokémon School, and he had heard of shiny Pokémon. "You see this Eevee is supposed to be brown, but he is not." He was correct; the Eevee's coat was silver and seemed to be shimmering.

"Who cares when he has a smile like that!" he held up the Eevee to Professor Oak's face. It made a happy sound and tried to make its way free of Louis's grasp to go play some more. "Can I go now? I want to go train!" Oak appeared quite startled.

"This is just a newborn, you have to be careful!"

"Don't worry," he reassured himself, "I won't let anything hurt Shadow."

"Shadow?"

"Yeah," he said smiling with the Eevee still in his hands, "His egg was black so I'm gonna call him Shadow!"

"Vee~Vee!" agreed Shadow. Oak chuckled.

"I think it's a fine name, who knows one day it might become an Umbreon like your Father's." Louis Scoffed.

"The chances of that happening are pretty darn slim."

* * *

"Honey where are you going!?" shouted his mother; he had forgotten about her completely. Shadow was sitting on his shoulder as Louis ran to his mother. He gave her a big hug and looked up at her. They were standing outside their house.

"Mom! I'm going on my Pokémon adventure like dad!" she smiled and closed her eyes, eventually reaching down to kiss him on the head.

"I'm not going to stop you," she looked greatly worried, "But… just be careful okay sweetie." Louis rolled his eyes and moaned.

"I'm not a kid anymore Mom, I can take care of myself."

"Vee!" yelped Shadow as he began wagging his bushy tail.

"It's so darn cute!" she spoke as she bent down to pet the silver fox on its head; Shadow's tongue was sticking out.

"I named him Shadow." Smiled Louis, he was proud of his new friend.

"Why Shadow?"

"His egg was black." His mother looked confused.

"So it just hatched?" she asked, "Like, today?"

"Yeah, no time to talk Mom gotta' go!" he ran into the house and ran up the stairs, he began packing anything he could carry with him on his journey; meanwhile Shadow was bounding up and down across the room excitedly. Louis looked over and saw a box on his desk.

"_When you start your Pokémon journey I want you to take what's in this box. There are a lot of bad people out there and I have seen my fair share, this will protect you when your Pokémon partners cannot._" His father had instructed. He leaned over the desk and opened the black box to reveal a large baton of some sort; it was completely black and had a button on the handle. An instruction booklet lay beside it.

"Press the red button on the Baton to activate its electronic capabilities, capable of rendering a human being unconscious for a few hours; to be used in self-defence only blah blah blah." He threw the booklet behind himself and Shadow caught it in his mouth. He picked the baton up out of the box and saw a blue button on the other side. "What does this do?" he pressed it and the baton retracted into the hilt, Louis was relatively surprised. He shrugged and hooked it to his Poke-ball belt through one of the loops. He ran back down the stairs with a black knapsack of supplies on his back and Shadow in his arms, whom was still smiling. His mother caught him at the bottom of the steps.

"Here," she said holding a plastic card in her outstretched hand, "This is a bank card full of money that your father left for you, he wanted to make sure you were prepared for your… adventure." He grabbed it out of her hand and embraced her in another hug.

"Love you." He said before running out the door with Shadow now on his shoulder again. She never got to say goodbye, just like her husband.

* * *

"Chase!" waved Louis. Chase was a good childhood friend of his and they were almost always together. A boy with large thick rimmed glasses looked up from a book that he was reading whilst sitting on the grass. His hair was long and dark and through his spectacles you could see his brown eyes. He stood up and brushed off his blue jeans and black hoodie. Beside him sat a black backpack.

"What is it?" he sighed. Louis ran down the field as fast as he could and slid to a halt right before him.

"Check this out!" he held out his premier ball and pressed the button so it could enlarge.

"You finally got one!?"

"I know right, it's so awesome!" Chase put his hands up.

"Hold that thought." He kneeled down beside his pack and produced from it a PokéBall with an orange upper layer with black stripes across it. "I wonder if our Pokémon will like each other…" hinted Chase.

"Good idea!" agreed Louis. Both at once they released the Pokémon from their balls in large flashes of white light. Shadow the shiny Eevee materialized from the white ball that Louis held and from Chase's ball came another dog like Pokémon with a bright orange coat and black stripes.

"Shadow," pointed Louis, "Meet Fenrir the Growlithe." The Growlithe was almost double the Eevee's size, Shadow stood at only one-and-a-half feet; Fenrir stood at two-and-a-half.

"Vee!" said Shadow happily. He seemed surprisingly unafraid of the larger Pokémon.

"Grrrrow!" Fenrir replied happily. They sat there yelping at each other for a few seconds before bouncing off to play in the fields.

"That went better than expected." Smiled Louis. Louis looked over to see Chase with his mouth opened wide.

"Why is your Eevee silver… and sparkling?" he asked with a twitching finger pointed out towards the field.

"He's shiny, weren't you in Poké-Biology too?" Chase took a second to compose himself as he picked up his backpack off the ground. The two of them started off towards their Pokémon in the field.

"Yeah but the odds of getting a Shiny Pokémon are 8,192 to one; I never expected you to end up with one."

"Yeah well this one just hatched from a Pokémon egg, a miscoloured one at that." While still walking Chase turned his head towards Louis.

"Are you sure it's such a smart idea to be bringing him out so young?"

"Don't worry, I'm gonna become the world's best Pokémon breeder and evolution expert!" he threw his hands in the air, "I know what I'm doing." Chase just shrugged.

"I hope so…" they sat down beside Shadow who was rolling around in the grass and Fenrir who was watching him. "When are we going to go collect all of the badges like we had planned?" asked Chase.

"Today!" he exclaimed, Chase looked taken back, "It's still early in the morning so we might as well get going soon right?" Chase was shocked.

"I-I-I don't know how I wo-would explain that to my Mom. I-I—"

"Okay it's settled, I'll give you two hours to get ready and I'll meet you by the town gates!" he grabbed Shadow up off the ground and hoisted the Pokémon onto his shoulders. As Louis ran across the field Chase sighed and grabbed up his bags, whistling for Fenrir to follow after him.

* * *

Louis sat on a bench beside the entrance to Pallet-Town with his Eevee in his arms and his knapsack beside him. He was so excited that he could hardly contain himself and his rambunctious new-born friend wasn't helping that. For a baby Pokémon he was surprisingly obedient and seemed to understand when Louis said to do something. Shadow looked up at his master through black eyes with a smile on his face.

"Ee-Ee-Vee?" it said. Louis smiled back.

"Don't worry," he assured, "Chase and Fenrir will be here any moment." Sure enough after an hour and a half of waiting they arrived. It was strange, it seemed to Louis as if he could actually UNDERSTAND what his Pokémon was trying to convey to him, although he couldn't understand how that would work. Chase made his way up the road with his own knapsack full of supplies and Fenrir in tow; as he got closer a breeze mussed up his hair and he had to brush it back with his hand.

"My mother was sure surprised…" he said, "But she was happy that I would finally get to see Kanto." He reached into his pack and brought out two watches, or what appeared to be watches.

"What is this?" asked Louis as he sat up and let Shadow leap onto the ground; Louis snatched the blue one out of Chase's hand.

"They're new from The Unova Region, they're called X-Transceivers and we can use them to call whoever we want." He pointed at Louis's, "Yours already has mine and your mother's numbers registered in it." Louis put the gadget on his wrist.

"Wow, thanks!"

"Don't thank me," said Chase while shaking his head, "My Mom had them lying around and gave them to me, apparently she was planning ahead." He smiled and looked behind himself, towards the town, "So we're really going to do this?" Louis raised his fist in the air.

"It's our destiny!" he shouted. Shadow yelped towards the sky.

"Vee-Veevee!" Chase smiled and shook his head.

"Fine, alright Fenrir let's get going."

"Grrrowl!" He replied. Shadow jumped a good five feet onto Louis's left shoulder and they made their way through the gates, on the road to Viridian City.


	2. Rocket

Passing by tree after tree, after tree, after tree was getting all too repetitive for Louis and Chase, although their Pokémon did not seem to mind. It was a tedious first few hours of walking and they had obviously not prepared properly for their journey; all of the supplies that they had need of were with them, but they were not in the best of shape for long sessions of constant walking. Louis had heard stories of Pokémon journeys and how frustrating they were if you were not adequately prepared; this was going to be one of those journeys.

"Can we rest for a bit do you think?" asked an overly tired Chase; the two Pokémon still seemed to be full of energy.

"…Fine, I'm getting tired too." They sat down under a large tree with an optimum amount of shade covering the ground from the harsh august sunlight. The trees had leaves of green and yellow and every few seconds a sole leaf would split from the branches and fall gracefully to the ground to be swept away by the wind. A flock of Spearow flew across the sky to the south back towards Pallet. Louis could see a few birds in the sky that were not considered Pokémon by usual standards, crows he thought. Chase was drawing something in his notebook, most likely of the beautiful scenery before them. When Louis slowly peered over to see his sketch he realized it was of the two Pokémon who were sitting beside each other waiting patiently for their master's consent to move on. The details of the drawing were quite spectacular, very lifelike and defined.

"You're really good." Said Louis, Chase didn't take his gaze off of his paper.

"Thanks." He said without a thought on anything except the picture. Louis went to his backpack and unzipped the largest pouch presenting from it a book that he was reading, a manga of a sort. Chase was more of a novel reader himself and scoffed as Louis began flipping through the pages right to left; Louis paid him no heed.

"Ee… Vee?"

"Growl-l-l-l-l-lithe!" the two trainers jumped off the ground at the Growlithe's call. Fenrir sat right in front of the two of them, staring.

"I think they want to get going…" said Louis. They packed up their things and threw their bags over their shoulders. Not even an hour down the road they stumbled upon a peculiar sight; two men in black uniforms with a red 'R' embroidered on their backs and both wearing black caps. The men were harassing a little girl and kicking her Pokémon, a Rattata. The small purple mouse Pokémon was no match for the villains, who did not have Pokémon of their own but were easily a match for the rodent. One scooped up the rat and shoved it in a sack as it squirmed and as the girl tried to fight back one of the grunts pushed her to the dirt and she began to cry; they just laughed. By this time Louis and Chase were quite close to the scene and as soon as the grunts went to leave they spotted the two Pokémon.

"What are you doing to her!" screamed Louis, he had his hand on his belt were the stun baton was. The grunts who looked to be only 18 at the most approached the two of them; Louis didn't need an explanation for their actions, his father had warned him about '**TEAM ROCKET**'. He thought of an Eevee's most basic of moves and sprang into action.

"Shadow use Tackle!" he pointed at the right grunt and he looked surprised when a silver blur hit his head and he was knocked to the ground unconscious. The Rattata squirmed out of the bag and ran back to the girl who embraced her friend. The other grunt looked just as surprised but decided to run at Louis to avenge his fallen friend.

"You'll pay for that you Bastard-d-d-d-d-d-d-d!" the man screamed and stuttered as the electrical baton hit him in the side of the neck. Louis pulled the baton away from his neck and the man started walking slowly backwards with his limbs twitching; then he fell to the ground and continued twitching beside his already fallen friend.

"Where in the hell did you get that thing!" Chase exclaimed; Fenrir was gnawing on the unconscious man's arm.

"I got it from my dad," he answered while hooking it back onto his belt, "Never thought it would come in handy so soon." He shrugged. Shadow was standing on the other grunt's body with his tongue sticking out.

"Are they… dead?" Chase hesitated with the question. Louis scoffed and nudged a man's head with his shoe.

"They're okay, may wake up in a few hours so we better move." Louis heard crying and looked over to see the girl holding her Pokémon sobbing; they approached her and Louis kneeled down near her.

"Th-Th-Thank you so-o-o much…" she managed to say.

"Where do you live, kid?" she looked up at him and he smiled at her.

"V-Viridian City…"

"Why don't you travel with us?" Louis held out his hand to her and she took it.

"Okay." She wiped her eyes and put her Rattata back in its PokéBall. They began walking down the road towards Viridian City once again.

"Hey," said Chase. The girl looked up at him, "What's your name?"

"My name is Sally…" she said nervously while trying to avoid eye contact. Shadow was on Louis's shoulder again and he was licking his face, Louis did not pay him any attention.

"We better get to Viridian soon, my father got messed up in Team Rocket's affairs and it made his life difficult." He said

"Team Rocket?" questioned Chase, "Who is that?"

"The guys we just fought, my father told me about them and we might have even more trouble now, they control a lot of the underground in Kanto and beyond." Chase made a face at Louis.

"Are you serious?! I don't want to be hunted by an evil organization my whole life!"

"My father still is!" he said angrily stopping and pointing at Chase, "And he's still alive, if anything it made his life more exciting!" Chase never understood how Louis could always look on the Brightside of these situations.

"Whatever let's just move before they wake up…"

* * *

After a day or so of traveling, only stopping to sleep they had reached the nearby Viridian City and Louis was marvelled by its size and stature, large brick buildings loomed over head and Cars passed by in droves, the two trainers had decided to return their friends to their PokéBalls as the city was quite busy and confusing.

"This way!" the little girl Sally had grabbed Louis's hand and directed him through the traffic and alleyways to her house; the house was small but large enough for a family to make livable. The white siding was in good condition, but only when compared to the other slummy houses along the way. "Mommy I'm home and I brought friends!" a woman appeared out of the doorway wearing a sweater and jeans.

"Sally!" she kneeled down and caught her daughter in her arms, "Who are these people?"

"I was stolen by two bad men and these trainers saved me from them." The mother looked up at the two trainers who waved at her. She put down sally and went over to embrace Louis and Chase in a giant hug.

"Thank you so much!" she sobbed, "We have been looking for her for four days now, we had begun to lose hope…"

"No need to thank us, we—" Louis was cut off.

"Nonsense, you can stay with us! As Pokémon trainers I can assume you have nowhere else to go." Louis and Chase looked at each other.

"…well," said Chase as he scratched the back of his head, "It would be better than sleeping at the Pokémon Center?" Louis reached out and shook her hand.

"Thank you for your hospitality, of course we'll stay!"

* * *

"Team Rocket!" said Sally's mother as she slammed her fist on the table, a single tear dropped down her face, "I should have known…"

"Have you had run-ins with the Rockets before?" asked Chase, the woman looked up with anger in her eyes.

"They go up and down the slums and demand protection money, they're all crooks! Stealing people's Pokémon! And now Kidnappings?!" she slammed her fist down on the table top again.

"My father… never told me about this…" whispered Louis.

"Why!?" she asked, "Is he one too!?" she looked like she was going to lose her fragile cool.

"No, no, no! He's wanted by them for assaulting their men and stealing back Pokémon, stuff like that." The woman let out a long breath and slumped back in her chair.

"You just gained a lot of respect from me then." She looked back to see her daughter playing with her Rattata.

"My father deserves your respect… not me, I just saved one person, but my father has saved hundreds of people AND Pokémon from them."

"But he didn't save my daughter, did he?" Louis went silent. The woman leaned forward now. "What is your father's name?"

"Neil…" he said softly, "Neil Edleson…" her eyes widened.

"The chances…" she gasped.

"What… you know him!?" She smiled out the side of her mouth and stared at Louis for a bit.

"Know him, HA! Your dad is a Legend!" Louis looked somewhat confused, he never knew his father as a Legend, a hero maybe but not a Legend. "No wonder the Rockets want him so bad." She began to laugh and then grabbed Louis's hand from across the table. "You don't know how lucky you are that they don't know about your daddy's family! Otherwise you would be in deep trouble." Louis's head began to spin, what hadn't he been told about his father?

"Then we… we can't stay here, it's too dangerous for you to harbor us." Said Chase. Sally's mother shook her head and smiled.

"No, it is an honor to have you here!" Louis's breathing was becoming more rapidly paced; he couldn't breathe right; not after knowing how much trouble he could be in. The woman noticed his increased pulse in his hand and grabbed his arm too.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Louis tried to calm himself.

"Just- just tired…" he exasperated from between his dry lips.

"You two can sleep on the fold out couch, and feel free to let your Pokémon out." They went to sleep that night on the couch-bed and their Pokémon slept beside them the whole night… Louis couldn't get to sleep as easily as usual, not after realizing how much trouble he could be for everyone, for himself, for his Pokémon…

* * *

The morning came through the draped windows with orange light and harsh beams shining in their eyes, Louis squinted as he reached for Shadow to move him out of the way so he could get off of the bed… couch… cot… thing. He went over to the kitchen and Sally's mother was making eggs, Louis was starving and everything smelt so good.

"Good morning." She said, "My name is Mara for the record, sorry for such a rude introduction." She said.

"No problem, I haven't introduced myself either; I'm Louis." He stated, he then pointed towards the living room. "My friend's name is Chase."

"Eggs?" she asked while holding out the frying pan of fried eggs.

"Yes please." He answered; sitting down at the table now.

"I see your father taught you manners too." Louis just laughed and then laid his head down on the table. A knock came from the door and the both of them turned suddenly.

"Open the Hell up! Rockets here to collect!"


	3. Chu

"I said, OPEN UP!" shouted the grunt. Louis and Mara had not expected this and it was plastered all over their faces, what could they do? There was nothing to do. Louis ran over to the couch and put the two Pokémon back in their PokéBalls before rousing Chase from his sleep.

"Team Rockets here man, get up!" he whispered in a rushed tone. Chase sat up as fast as humanly possible and grabbed his bag, Louis grabbed his own bag and threw Chase his PokéBall. He caught the ball and hooked it to his belt. The two of them quickly folded up the bed. Three loud knocks came from the door.

"I'm coming, hold on a sec'!" she yelled at the door. She turned the stove off and ran into the living room; she opened the closet door and motioned for them to get in it. The two trainers quickly squished into the small closet and closed the door.

"Yes?" said Mara as she answered the door.

"You have been stalling with your payments long enough! Time to pay up!" said the first grunt of the three, all of them were dressed in the same uniform with the same goofy looking cap. This one had a PokéBall on his belt.

"Um… yes, okay; let me go get my money." She ran into her room and opened a safe underneath her bed; the room itself was a mess and litter was strewn about. She eventually came back with a large wad of Poké-Dollars in her hand. The grunt swiped the cash from her hands and counted them.

"Thanks for the co-operation." The grunt punched her in the chest, hard. The three villains laughed as they walked away and she closed the door. She slid down the wall and put her hands on her knees. Louis and Chase opened the closet door and ran over to her; Chase hoisted her by the arm to her feet.

"You two need to leave, as soon as possible!"

"But… why? Those guys weren't looking for us right." Stated Chase. Mara was in a daze and she couldn't stand up straight so she leaned against the wall.

"The two that you rescued my daughter from will tell the rest what happened eventually…" she ran to the counter around the corner and grabbed a pen and paper; she started to scrawl something down on the paper.

"What are you—" before Louis could finish his sentence a piece of paper was shoved toward him. The paper had numbers on it.

"Call the top one with your X-Transceiver to get me… the second one is for if you two are in big trouble."

"…Thank you for keeping us." Said Louis graciously.

"Don't mention it, now go out the back door and get out of the city…" she said, Louis shook his head.

"No, there is a Pokémon Gym in Viridian, I have to—"

"It's too strong for you right now, go to Pewter City… challenge Brock; you can leave out the back door and no one will see you." She told them.

"Thanks." Said Chase. The two trainers opened the back sliding doors leading into a ragged alley with trash lining the fences and overflowing dumpsters, bug Pokémon were digging through the refuse piles. They did not stop for anything as they left the town, not a Poké-mart or Pokémon center, not even a convenience store. They left the town through the northern road onto route two.

* * *

After a few more hours of travel they arrived upon a change of scenery, instead of fields with trees generously dotting the landscape, there was a large forested area of trees through which a path led.

"Is this… Viridian Forest?" asked Louis.

"It seems like it…" said Chase who was holding an unfolded map in front of himself. The tall trees had an ominous presence, they were dark evergreen and light seasonal trees mixed together in a winding maze of nature; the shade of the trees was so intense that the sun itself was blotted out by them.

"Let's go I guess…" shrugged Louis as he reached for the PokéBall on his belt. He pressed the button twice and a bright light released Shadow from his capsule. Chase did the same for Fenrir. Shadow jumped up onto Louis's shoulder as they walked into the forest. Minutes felt like hours as they attempted to navigate through the thorny and dark terrain. They circled around for extended amounts of time and wasted lots of time trying to find a way out that led to Pewter City. They ran into many different bug Pokémon along the way as well.

"Fenrir use Takedown!" Fenrir jumped into action and went headfirst at a Beedrill. The Growlithe hit the Bee Pokémon hard and it fell to the ground with its wings twitching as it tried to fly away.

"Do it now!" yelled Louis.

"PokéBall, GO!" screamed Chase as he threw a PokéBall at the wounded Beedrill. The ball popped open as it bounced up off of the forest floor and a red light sucked in the helpless Beedrill to entrap it in the capsule. The trainers held their breaths as the ball began to shake and after it rolled around three times, the button went from a heated red to a soft white.

"Hell Yeah!" cheered Chase as he jumped into the air. He ran over to the capsule that lay on the ground and scooped it up, shrinking it to put it on his belt.

"Nice job, what'll you call it?" asked Louis with Shadow still on his shoulder.

"I don't know hmmmm…"he pondered for a bit and then snapped his fingers. "How about 'Stinger' sounds good enough right?" Louis shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"It's okay I guess…" was all he said, Chase sighed and followed after him with Fenrir following beside him. They continued through the forest, still looking for an exit. After another hour of wondering and battling with trainers and wild Pokémon alike… they stumbled upon a very rare sight. A sole Pikachu sat upon the branch of tree, yawning and eating berries that he must of collected from nearby bushes, all Louis had to know was that Pikachu was a rare Pokémon and that he was gonna catch one.

"This one is mine, called it." He whispered to his friend. The Pikachu looked like it didn't notice them so Louis took a chance and called out to his Eevee.

"Shadow use Swift!" he shouted pointing at the Pikachu.

"Chu?" but he didn't have enough time to react and the stars from 'Swift' hit him hard, knocking him off of the branch and onto the ground. "Chuuuu…" the Pikachu was getting mad and his cheek pouches began to surge with electricity, more than was usual for a Pikachu, and that intrigued Louis.

"PIKA-CHUUUUU!" and a bolt of lightning shot from the Pikachu towards Shadow, Louis told him to dodge but Shadow was too slow from recovering from swift, he fell back and got back up on his feet a second later.

"Vee!" he said angrily. Shadow was snarling now.

"Shadow use Tackle!" the Pikachu was about to charge his attack again but the Eevee had already tackled him right in the stomach sending the Pokémon rolling across the ground into a tree.

"PokéBall, GO!" shouted Louis as he threw a PokéBall at the Pikachu. The Pikachu went to swat at it but it had already hit him in the head and shot out a red beam of light at the weakened electric mouse, pulling it into the ball and sealing it as it fell to the ground. The ball shook once, then twice, and a third time… and then stopped.

"Woohoo!" cheered Chase, "Nice one!" Louis went over and cupped the ball in his hands; he stared at it and then said:

"I'll name him 'Chu'."

"Really… Chu?" questioned Chase with his arms crossed.

"What is there a problem?"

"No… it's just…" he sighed, "fine, whatever." Louis just laughed and then shrunk the ball, returning it to his belt.

"Vee… Ee…" spoke Shadow.

"Oh! Your hurt." Louis reached into his knapsack and pulled out a spray bottle of some kind, a potion. He grabbed shadow and pulled him closer to him; he sprayed the area where the electricity had hit him and then sprayed some on Shadow's tongue… he didn't like that, but it helped. They continued their trek through the relentless maze of nature, and nature was unforgiving indeed. By what they assumed was around dinnertime they were starving, their Pokémon were starving too.

"Eeeeeeek!" a scream could be heard from not too far away. Louis ran ahead and saw a single woman, around their age; she was wearing a magenta coloured hooded sweater and tight blue jeans. She was pushed up against a tree and was surrounded by at least five Weedle. A Squirtle that he could assume was hers was fainted on the ground in front of her, it had bruises all over its body. Without thinking he threw Shadow off of his shoulder and in front of the girl. The Eevee landed with surprising grace.

"Shadow use Roar!" the Eevee bent his neck back and held air in his cheeks, and then he let out a shockingly loud roar, all of the Weedle were so terrified that they ran back into the forest. The girl slouched down against the tree and started breathing normally again, and then she saw her squirtle.

*Gasp* "Shell-Shock! Are you okay!?" she went and held the Squirtle's head up as it lay still on the ground.

"Squir… r… tle…" it barely managed the sounds it made. Louis ran over and opened his pack; behind him Chase and Fenrir had just arrived.

"Here," he handed her a purple bottle, which she took, "It's an antidote; your Pokémon looks like it's been poisoned."

"Thank you." She poured the liquid contents down his throat and the Pokémon shuddered.

"Now take this." She handed her a 'Super' potion, a potion that was far more potent; to be used for situations like this. She sprayed it all over the Squirtle's body and into his mouth. After a few moments the Squirtle, Shell-Shock, was fine again.

* * *

"Lithe! Growl-owl!"

"Squirt, squirt squirtle!"

"Eev… Ee, Eevee!"

"Our Pokémon seem to be getting along well." Said the girl happily; the three of them were sitting down beside the tree that she was leaning against, eating HER dinner.

"You look pretty hungry," Louis said with a mouth full of rice, "Are you sure you don't want any?"

"It's the least I can do for the people who rescued me!" she smiled.

"Well anyways," Louis slammed his chest with his fist to force the food down faster, "I'm Louis and he's Chase." Chase waved at her over his meal.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Breanne, but all my friends just call me Bree." She reached into her blue backpack and brought out a small parcel.

"What's that?" asked Chase.

"I was supposed to deliver it to the Pokémon center in Viridian city, it's from Professor Oak and apparently two trainers that started out of Pallet a few days ago forgot their Pokedexs' so he sent some out from Pewter to be delivered to the—" she stopped midsentence and looked up at them. "It says to be delivered to a 'Louis and Chase'…" the two trainers looked at each other and then tore it from her hands without a second thought. Chase whipped out a pocket knife and started getting it opened.

"So… you a courier or something?" asked Louis.

"No, just doing an odd job, for extra money."

Chase said "There are other ways to do that." From under his breath and Louis punched him in the arm. "Ow!" he jerked the knife and the package flopped open, revealing ten PokéBalls and two red PDAs', The PokéDex. Louis took one out and flipped it open.

"_Hello, I am Dexter, your personal Pokémon Data Encyclopedia guide._" Said a voice.

"Sweet!" he flipped it closed and put it in his pocket, beside his baton. "Hey thanks for this!"

"Don't mention it." She smiled and cocked her head to the side. Her dirty-blonde hair draped down her shoulders. He looked over to see her squirtle socializing with the two other Pokémon.

"Are you a trainer?" he asked her while Chase was going through his PokéDex. She pointed to her Squirtle.

"Me and Shell-Shock are going to beat Brock and get our first badge!"

"Cool, how many Pokémon do you— oh shit!" he reached to his belt and grabbed Chu's PokéBall. Louis pressed the button twice and a flash of light revealed his Pikachu, almost unconscious; he reached into his bag and brought out another super potion and proceeded to spray down Chu with it.

"…Chuuuu…"

"I'm so sorry that I forgot about you Chu; by the way your name is Chu now… hope you like it." Chu seemed indifferent considering he was battered and bruised. Shadow turned from the group of Pokémon and ran over to Chu.

"Vee?"

"Pika… Chuuuu…"

"Don't worry," he assured Shadow, "Chu will be okay." Shadow made a happy sound and then pranced on back to Fenrir and Shell-Shock.

"I'll just take Stinger to the Pokémon center in Pewter city… assuming we ever get out of this forest." Bree looked up.

"I know the way out!" she said.

"Really!? Oh thank god!" said Chase.

"Pack up your stuff and follow me." She told them.


	4. An Unwelcomed Companion

After an hour of walking and climbing over fallen branches they finally made it out of the dark Viridian forest. As they exited the forest and entered back into the bright sunlight Louis's eyes were forced into a squint by the sun's intense rays. A dirt path lay before them; a sign on the road read "Pewter City " and pointed north.

"It should only take a thirty minute walk to get to Pewter city." Said Bree.

"So, do you live in Pewter?" asked Louis. Bree turned around and began walking backwards, so she could face them as they talked.

"Yep, my whole family does." She told them, "They hope I get to continue on my Badge hunt soon."

"Same, but Team Rocket might make it hard…" said Chase. Louis made a look on his face that signaled that he said something he shouldn't have.

"Team Rocket? What do you know about them?" she said inquisitively.

"Well…" Louis was hesitant to let their 'crime of justice' be heard aloud by others, "We kind of pissed them off." Bree just laughed at him.

"What did you do you idiot?" Louis let his temper get the better of him.

"I did it in self-defence!" he said, "There was no other option." She turned her back to them again.

"There's always another option…"

* * *

As they arrived in town the short buildings and narrower streets felt slightly underwhelming compared to the majesty of Viridian City. Up and down the streets cars were whizzing by and barely missing pedestrians. The buildings were colorful compared to Viridian but the Pokémon center was still as red as any other town. Chase, Louis and Breanne walked down the long busy street towards the doors of the Pokémon center. The doors opened up automatically as they approached.

"It smells good in here, looks pretty clean too." Said Chase. Breanne looked at him weird.

"Why, what was it like back in Pallet?" she asked. Louis laughed as he answered her.

"Our Pokémon center is a dump, no one uses it."

"Oh, why is that?" asked Breanne. Louis stopped walking at about half way to the front desk.

"Because no worthwhile Pokémon trainer stays there long…" and then he kept walking to the counter where the nurse was standing. The nurse was quite pretty he thought, strange that she had pink hair though.

"Hello, Welcome to the Pokémon Center! What can I do for you today?" she said. Louis approached her first.

"My Pokémon are injured." He explained, "Can you help?" she smiled and held out her hands.

"Of course, just give me your PokéBalls." Louis handed her his two PokéBalls. "Anyone else?" she asked; Bree and Chase both gave up their PokéBalls and went to sit down while they waited. The chairs were not overly comfortable but they fit the contours of their backs well. Chase sat beside Louis, and Breanne sat across from them.

"I'm guessing that you two haven't beaten any Gym-Leaders yet?" she inquired. Louis, who had been staring at his hands for the past five minutes trying to pass the time, looked up.

"No, this will be the first one." Said Louis. She looked at him and crossed her arms.

"And you think you can beat Brock with an Electric-type and a Normal-type?" she said mockingly. Louis had never thought about that, but surely he could find a way to beat Brock, it wasn't all about Brawn after all and his brains could win him and his Pokémon the Boulder-Badge.

"It's about strategy, type advantages don't always win the match." He argued.

"They help." Said Chase who was looking through his PokéDex again.

"Shut up! I know I'm good enough to win." Said Louis matter-of-factually.

"Don't get so defensive." said Chase to his irritable friend.

"Yeah," said Breanne, "Calm down, I'm sure you'll do fine." Louis turned his head and raised his nose.

"Psh… You're just saying that."

"Maybe, fake hope is better than none though, right?" Louis had to agree, but he would never admit it to her face, he was too proud.

* * *

After they had gotten their Pokémon back from the helpful nurse at the Pokémon center they decided to go with Breanne to her house; she assured them that they would be allowed to stay.

"My parents are nice enough." She said while they walked down the sidewalk to the other side of town, the sun was setting and it painted everything a soothing orange color.

"That's what everyone says about their parents," said Louis, Shadow was on his shoulder; Bree was carrying Shell-Shock in her arms. "Most of everyone at least." At least five people had stopped and stared at his Shiny Eevee. Eventually they had reached a large house with a long decorative iron-bar fence surrounding it; it was like a Mansion.

"Home, sweet home!" said Breanne happily.

"Squiiirtle!" the house was one of the larger of the neighborhood, its white siding was un-tattered and in much better condition than the house they had previously stayed at. Tall windows and a large front door made of Mahogany… she had to be rich, Louis and Chase had looks of pure astonishment on their faces; because they would get to stay here! The front door opened up and Shell-Shock jumped out of Bree's arms and ran into the house.

"Welcome home, dear!" said a woman as she opened the door, she was wearing a gown of surprising quality, even for their house. "I'm afraid I don't have much time, we're on our way to a party— who are these people?" that explained the gown…

"Their friends Mom, but they don't have a place to stay, do you think maybe they could stay with us for a bit?" she made puppy-dog eyes at her mother. She put on a look of consideration, but it looked doubtful. Breanne motioned for her mother to come closer and proceeded to whisper into her ear. When she was done her mom appeared pleasantly surprised.

"Oh, wonderful!" she clapped her hands together. "They are welcome whenever they need to stay!" Louis and Chase were definitely surprised at the ease of her change in tone. Breanne's mother disappeared behind the door and came back out with a man behind her, obviously Bree's Father. They talked for a minute or two with their hosts, but they eventually had to leave for the party.

"Come on in!" said Bree.

"Now hold on just a moment." Said Louis with his hands held out in front of himself. "What did you say to get us in?" she turned and put her hand on her other shoulder.

"Um… I said you would take me along with you on your Pokémon league qualification journey…" Louis put his hands down but largely continued to be unmoving.

"Why didn't you ask us first?" asked Louis, Breanne was blushing like a rose.

"I… was afraid you would say… no." Louis sighed and shook his head.

"Well… I guess you could come," Breanne's face lit up, "just… ask for permission for these things later on, OK?" Bree jumped out of the doorway and grabbed Louis's hand shaking it wildly.

"You won't regret it." She swore. They entered the house and instantly Chase and Louis were astounded; there was so much room, and it was so modern looking.

"Are you guys coming?" she was already at the top of a small spiral staircase while the two boys were standing on ground-level in a state of shock.

"Uh… yeah… yeah we're coming." Replied Chase with his jaw still dropped. They made it up the stairs, but when they got to the top they were just as amazed. The hallway they stood in had pure white walls, just like the rest of the house, but with at least 6 rooms lining it up and down. Shadow, who was still on Louis's shoulder, jumped down and began to run up and down the hall. Chase let Fenrir out of his PokéBall as well. Bree pointed to two doors.

"These are your guys' rooms," she grabbed the knob of another door, "This one is mine." She opened the door and went inside, leaving the door open. Louis and Chase looked at each other and then proceeded into her room as well. The walls were a refreshing blue color, a nice change from the boring, monochrome pallet of the rest of the house. A large flat screen TV was hung on her wall to the south and a king sized bed sat across from it with a bubble pattern on the comforter. Her squirtle was bouncing on the bed.

"Squir-tle, Squir-tle!" said Shell-Shock as he bounced up and down. Shadow ran into the room and jumped up on the bed with Shell-Shock.

"Ee-vee, Ee-vee!" he yapped.

"Nice… place you've got here…" Louis said; he was eyeing the TV.

"Thanks, I don't like it all that much personally; living like this gets boring really easy." Chase gave her a look of disbelief.

"Bull, this is an awesome set up!" he shouted, "How could this be boring?" She looked back at him with the same disbelief.

"Everything is handed to me on a silver platter, I don't have to do anything to get something, I can buy anything I want; none of it is exciting." Louis turned to her.

"I know what you mean." He said, "My life was never exciting until a few days ago." Chase looked at Louis.

"Are you saying you wouldn't want to live here!?" Louis put down his bag and slouched back in one of the four comfy chairs that sat in the corner of the room beside the door.

"I wouldn't say that…" he shrugged, "Just that it would be boring." The whole situation was humbling really; Louis had thought his entire life that he was well off, not anymore.

"I have something that will make tomorrow worth waking up to." Said Breanne.

"What is that exactly?" asked Louis. Breanne sat down on the bed even as it was still bouncing with Pokémon; Fenrir was still standing beside his master.

"Our training room and the best Pokémon Nutrients and Vitamins available…"


	5. Natural Strength

The next morning Breanne led the two Pokémon trainers down into the basement through hall after hall. When they arrived down in the basement it was a sight to behold for any Pokémon trainer. A very large mat sat in the middle of the room, it was obviously based after an official Pokémon league arena. The walls were lined with potion dispensers and bottles of Pokémon vitamins; it was a trainer's paradise. Louis and Chase could hardly stay standing.

"I didn't want to have to use these…" said Bree as she lifted up a bottle of HP-Up from the shelf, "but ever since Brock beat me last time… I know it's the right thing to do." Louis ran over and grabbed a bottle of each.

"Don't mind if I do!" Bree grabbed his arm before he could bring his Pokémon out.

"Just… don't go overboard, okay?" he nodded and then reached for his belt. He released both Chu the Pikachu and Shadow the Eevee from their respective capsules.

"Chu?"

"Vee?

"Okay," he prepared to explain, "now… we're not nearly strong enough to beat the first Gym," Louis could swear that the two Pokémon were actually paying attention and understanding the words that he spoke, "But, we have these to help us train, they'll make you stronger naturally so there's no harm in using them." Shadow was playing with one of the pill bottles now.

"Just give them a few of each pill and let's get started." Said Chase, "Besides, a lot of Pokémon don't actually feel the effects of the pills." Louis sighed and looked up at Chase.

"Don't be such a downer man, maybe my Pokémon will get lucky." Louis cracked open a bottle of protein and handed both Chu and Shadow two pills each, which they swallowed happily. For the next minute Louis continued to do this with all of the vitamins he could find.

"I hope you didn't overdo it giving them two of each…" worried Bree with Shell-Shock in her arms. Louis stood up and put the bottles back on the shelves.

"They'll be fine, they don't even seem to be reacting yet." He told her.

"That's because you have to train them now dummy." Mocked Chase, his companion Fenrir concurred.

"Growl!"

"Aw shut it! I know what I'm doing."

"Hey!" said Breanne, "Maybe you two should battle." She continued feeding her sole Pokémon the pills.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea!" agreed Louis, "C'mon let's go!" he ran across to the other side of the mat and his Pokémon followed after him. Chase approached the opposite side of the mat at his own pace. The two of them were around 20 feet apart when they were finally in position.

"Are your Pokémon ready to eat practice mat?" asked a now smiling Chase.

"Nope," replied Louis, "But I hope yours is."

"GO Fenrir!" Fenrir jumped into the center of the mat at his master's command.

"Rowwwwl…" he snarled angrily.

"GO Shadow!" Shadow bounced out from behind his master's back and ran to the center of the mat as well; his Shiny fur was sparkling in the artificial light.

"Fenrir! Use Fire-Spin!" the Growlithe ran at his adversary and then stopped suddenly to open its mouth and breath a spinning ring of fire at him. Shadow dodged to the left and the fire burned his leg, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Shadow! Use Swift!" the Eevee opened its mouth and out came a flurry of star shaped energy disks. Fenrir tried to dodge up but a star hit his leg and he fell back down right into the line of fire. After the dust cleared it was obvious that Fenrir was still standing, but just barely.

"Fenrir! Use Takedown!" the Growlithe began to run at Shadow.

"Shadow! Use Protect!" Shadow made a yelping sound and then Fenrir hit; he didn't hit Shadow but he did hit the invisible barrier he had created and was sent flying back. It was truly a challenge for Fenrir to even stand now.

"Okay Shadow! Finish him off with Bite!" Shadow made a running start at his opponent and before the Growlithe had time to dodge the Eevee's teeth had already sunken in. Fenrir let out a loud cry and then fainted. Chase scrambled over to his fallen Pokémon and scooped him up in his arms.

"Nice job, hey do you have any Revives?" asked Chase.

"Yep, let me get one for you." Answered Bree as she walked over to a dispenser on the wall and pulled the lever beside it; a diamond shaped pill popped out. She walked across the room to Chase and handed it to him.

"Thanks!" he thanked as he placed the pill in Fenrir's mouth and forced it down his throat. A moment later the Pokémon woke back up. On the other side of the room Louis was spraying Shadow's leg with a potion as the Eevee conversed with Chu.

"Pika, Pika?"

"Vee, ee-ee!"

"Piiiii!"

"Okay, do you two want to battle each other now?" asked Louis to his Pokémon. The both of them took position without even being told and began to battle each other without the permission of their trainer. "Well that's new?" he shrugged and took a seat down on the other side of the room, drinking lemonade he had taken out of a vending machine. Shell-shock came down the stairs and made his way back to his master with Louis's and Chase's backpacks.

"Where was he, and what is he doing?" asked Chase as he attended to Fenrir's wounds.

"I told him to put some pill bottles in you packs for later." The squirtle went over to the shelves that held the bottles and jumped, grabbing one at a time. "That way we can use them on the road if we have to."

"That's a good idea actually." Said Louis as he sucked down another lemonade. Shadow and Chu were still battling on the battle mat and seemed to even be enjoying the rush of it. Chu would shoot lightning bolts and Shadow would, somehow, manage to dodge them; the vitamins were working. The carbos he gave them was doing the best job of them all, his Pokémon were so fast now.

"I… I guess I could use some pills too… Brock is a Gym leader after all." He grabbed some vitamins off of the shelf and fed both Fenrir and Stinger two of each, just like Louis had done. His two Pokémon also broke into a spontaneous sparing session on the other side of the mat. For hours they trained like this; honing both their skills as trainers and their Pokémon's skills. At lunch however they went out for a meal…

* * *

They walked down the road south of her house and headed for where most of the shops and restaurants were. Paved streets were humming with noise of cars and large transport trucks, the sidewalks were just as lively with people and it was not uncommon to see someone bump into another passerby. Walking in a town he was unfamiliar with made Louis paranoid and anxious; Team Rocket could be watching them right now and the three of them wouldn't have a clue.

"What's that weird thing on your PokéBall belt?" Bree asked Louis. Louis reached down and felt it with his left hand.

"It's a shock-baton… self-defence weapon, the reason Team Rocket is mad at us." Bree made a look like she knew what he was talking about but didn't say anything. "It was necessary though, and I don't regret it." He stated.

"I regret not stopping you… I don't like being hunted constantly." Interrupted a quivering Chase. Louis turned his head and gave him a look of disappointment.

"We saved a little girl; does that mean NOTHING to you?"

"I-I… I just… I just don't like being wanted by the Rockets…" Bree interrupted now.

"Okay. Wasn't there. Stop it with the drama before I puke." They continued walking for around 10 minutes until they reached a local diner that Breanne recommended. The three of them took a seat in one of the booths.

"So… what are we getting?" She said staring at the menu. Both Louis and Chase were face-deep in their own menus and didn't seem too keen to speak until they were finished.

"I'll have the chicken-strips." Said Louis just as the waitress arrived, "and a Cola, please."

"I'll have a Hamburger- no pickles- with onion rings, and a Cola too please." Chase said to the waitress.

"I'll have a club and a Cola too I guess." Bree said.

"And who's bill will this be?" asked the waitress.

"Mine," said Breanne, "I'll take the bill."

"Heh!" laughed the waitress with her beehive hairdo, "I guess chivalry really is dead." And then she walked away. The boys looked at Bree inquisitively.

"Oh, don't worry," she told them, "I know her, we crack jokes all the time." The three of them sat and talked for a good 20 minutes until their food arrived and they began to eat. They still talked but not as much for the remainder of the meal. Near the end of his last piece of chicken, Louis looked over to a stool near the counter and saw something unnerving. A man dressed in a black suit had a red arm band with a black square on it; in that square was a large red 'R'. Louis reached down to his belt and felt for his baton, it was there still.

"Look over there…" whispered Louis into Chase's ear. Chase was still chewing his hamburger when he turned and then he instantly stopped as his face began to turn red with panic. Louis motioned for Breanne to look over as well. When she did she was less surprised but still appeared just as worried. They walked up to the cashier and paid their bill; they were trying to leave as fast as possible, but when they went to leave Louis turned around and saw the man in the black suit staring at him over black sunglasses.

"We need to get out of here now!" he said terrified after the door had closed behind them. "That was definitely a Team Rocket member and we need to go!"

"We have Pokémon, we can fight them if they fight us!" stated Bree with her fist clenched. Louis exhaled a long breath and then spoke, grabbing her shoulders.

"I don't want it to come to that, we need to leave and see If we can get away before they find us." So they ran, they ran up the long road back to her manor house. Along the way they needed to make sharp turns to avoid rocket agents that they seemed to run into at every corner. Eventually they had no option but to go through a back alley to try and get away.

"Where do you think… you're going?" said the man with slicked back brown hair, the one from the diner. He blocked their path forward.

"I don't think they're going… anywhere." Said another man who had snuck up behind them, they were surrounded. Louis grabbed his PokéBall and got into a fighting stance.

"What do you want!?" he demanded. The agent in front of him laughed.

"That's real funny… I think you know exactly why we want you; Son of Neil…" Louis clenched his teeth together trying not to say anything he would come to regret. The man just continued to smile at him. "We need you to help get your daddy… it's that simple." The agent took off his glasses and put them in his pocket, and then grabbed a PokéBall from his belt. "GO, Drowzee!" the PokéBall opened to reveal a small fat Pokémon with a trunk, it was yellow and brown.

"Drowwww-zeee." It muttered, the agent pointed at Louis.

"Take them." He commanded. The Drowzee launched into the air and landed feet away from Louis.

"Chu, I choose YOU!" and from out of Louis's very own PokéBall came his friendly electric mouse.

"Pika, Pi!" it made a face at the Drowzee.

"Drowzee! Hypnosis!" the Drowzee began to wave its hands around in a circular motion and chanting its name.

"Chu! Close your eyes and charge your energy." Shouted Louis at the Pikachu.

"Chuuuuuuuuuu." He said, the sound getting angrier and angrier. The agent must have thought that it had worked and that Chu was asleep.

"Drowzee, Tackle it!" the Drowzee obeyed and ran at the Pikachu, only to be blasted back by a jolt of electricity. "What!?"

"Chu, use Thunder!"

"PIKACHUUUU!" and a giant yellow glowing lightning bolt descended from the darkened sky and hit the Drowzee, knocking it unconscious instantly.

"What!?" growled the agent, "How… How in the Hell did a brat beat me?" Louis brought out his baton and ignited it with electricity.

"You shouldn't have said that." He ran at the agent screaming while holding the baton with both hands. The agent went to block the seemingly regular baton with his hands but got a nasty shock.

"OW! You're gonna' pay for that you-u-u-u-u-u-u-u!" the man got another nasty surprise with an electric baton to the side of his chest. When he fell to the ground and his clothes had muddied, Louis turned to the other man, he stood still for a time, but he eventually turned tail and ran. Before they left, Louis took a revive out of his pack and threw it on the unconscious man, a sign of good faith and an apology to an innocent Pokémon. That Drowzee was just doing what it was told.


	6. Boulder

They got off to a slow start running the way back home to the manor, because they were still tired from running before and because they were afraid that more Team Rocket members would block their way, so they were cautious. When they had realized that they were no longer being followed by any agents they ran back to the manor as fast as they could, no detours, no delays, no distractions. They leapt over old fences and ran through parks, hiding behind trees and bushes so that they would not raise too much suspicion. Chase was even almost hit by a blue car on their way across a busy street. When they finally made it back they opened the large wooden door and went inside to sit on the furniture in the nearby family room; they were far too tired to make their way up the staircase. As Chase and Louis sat down in the comfy white sofa, Louis adjusted his goggles that were still on his forehead. Breanne sat on the adjacent matching sofa.

"What are we gonna' do?" she asked the boys, "We can't stay in town much longer." All three of them were breathing very heavy, and Chase was wheezing very hard.

"I agree," Louis replied, "we're in danger. When does Brock take on challengers?" he asked while his lungs were slowly committing metaphorical suicide. Bree put her head back up, she was still not breathing right.

"What day is today?" she counter-questioned them. Louis leaned back against the cushions of the couch and rubbed his forehead with his hand.

"…Monday, I think." He thought about it for a few more seconds, "Yes, definitely Monday."

"Okay," she took a moment to breathe, "Let's rest for the night and we can challenge him tomorrow." Chase's breathing returned to almost normal and he added in his worries to the conversation.

"What if one of us doesn't win?" the room went silent, as if everyone just stopped breathing.

"Don't worry," said Bree, "the vitamins we fed our Pokémon should help us win, and after that three hour long training sesh' we did; we should be fine." Louis looked at her again.

"We still need to train a little tomorrow though; I don't want to take any chances."

"One more thing guys," said Chase while the two others looked at him, "I found this on the ground in the alley," he pulled out a brown envelope, "the Rocket that ran must of dropped it by accident." Louis grabbed the envelope and tore it open; he should have expected what he saw. Two pictures fell out of the pouch into his lap, one of him, and one of his father; his father looked so much like him, except for the shorter hair and more gaunt face.

"We need to go soon." He said, "They know already…" That night they ate, showered, and slept all while being on alert for the slightest hint of the Rockets, tomorrow they would make a mad dash to the Pokémon Gym and then get out of town.

* * *

Louis awoke that morning in a comfy bed with white sheets and a comforter; he reached over on to the side table and grabbed his Pokémon belt and goggles. After he had gotten fully dressed in his usual clothes, the striped sweater and gray cargo pants, he exited his guest room and went immediately to the basement where the training room was. As he stepped down into the room with its cold concrete walls and its numerous dispensers, he felt immediately exhilarated; the rush that he experienced when his Pokémon were battling, the feeling of winning, it filled him when he stepped in the arena. It was six o'clock in the morning and he wanted to get up early to get a start on his training before the others. Louis reached down to his belt and grabbed his Premier Ball; Shadow's ball. He raised it to eye level and stared at it for a long time. Eventually he pressed the button on the front of the white capsule and it grew to the size of his palm, he did not know if he should start, or wait for the others. He lightly tossed the ball forward and it bounced off of the concrete floor with a hollow sound and opened. The white light that was released became Shadow.

"Vee!" he said happily as he shook his head wildly to get the dirt and dust out of the silver fluff on his neck, sparkles flew everywhere. Louis squatted down to Shadow's level.

"Do you want to start training now? Or do you want to wait?" the shiny Eevee yelped and then ran over to the practice mat, bouncing up and down. Louis sighed, "Okay, let's get started." Louis released Chu from his PokéBall and it let out a long yawn in its own name. For the next two and a half hours they trained non-stop with every training routine that Louis could come up with in his sleep-deprived head. "Don't stop!" he would shout encouragingly from the sidelines as his Pokémon sparred continuously with one another. When Chase woke up finally he roused Bree from her sleep and they both went down to the basement, only to be amazed by the speed and tenacity of Louis's two Pokémon.

"Holy crap…" breathed Chase who was still doing up his belt. Breanne was brushing her hair whilst she walked down the stairs.

"You've been working like a Machop for a while it seems." She said. Louis raised his dazed head with frizzed hair and managed a smile before going back to his catnap in his chair. Shadow and Chu seemed only barely tired; whether it was pedigree or the vitamins they ate, they were surely stronger than your average Pokémon. Lightning bolts flung through the air as both silver and yellow blurs flashed back and forth across the mat. Shadow wasn't even in an evolved state and already he was faster than the average Jolteon, hardier than the average Vaporeon, and more skillful than most Flareon.

"I hope you don't mind," said Louis as he rubbed the back of his sore neck, "but I took a TM from the wall over there and taught Chu to use Grass-knot for the battle against Brock." He pulled a green disk from out of the crack in between the cushion and the chair. Bree shrugged at him.

"These ones aren't single-use TMs." She said, "We can use them over and over again." She walked over to him and grabbed up the disk, hanging it once again on the wall.

"We should train too, you're squirtle can fight one of my Pokémon if you want." Offered Chase to Bree, she smiled.

"Why don't we send out all of our Pokémon and then we can just let them decide who is fighting who?" she counter-offered as she raised her PokéBall. For the next four hours their Pokémon kept switching out during their training matches, Shadow and Fenrir seemed to be winning the most often. After they were too tired to continue all of the Pokémon simply slouched to the ground and rested while their trainers hatched different strategies in their heads for the upcoming battle.

"On the bright side," said Louis, "we won't have to rush in the next town; we can just take our time hoping we don't anger the Rockets again." Chase adjusted his glasses and sighed.

"It won't be that simple, I can put money on that."

* * *

After an hour of satisfying rest for their Pokémon and preparation for the trainers they made their way to the Gym on the west side of Pewter City with full packs of equipment for the long journey ahead. Bree took only a few minutes to say goodbye to her parents before they left for Brock's Gym. Louis knew from the start that Breanne would be fine up against him with a water Pokémon like Shell-Shock. Normal and electric type moves did not match well against rock types, so Louis would have to be smart about how he battled. The sun was high in the blue sky and not a single cloud was in sight. People walked up and down the streets, talking and socializing, being content. There were not many cars today and everything seemed more peaceful. Children played in the park as their parents sat nearby on park benches; there was an abundance of trees here too. When they got to the Pokémon Gym run by Brock they marvelled at the structure that stood before them. It appeared to be a large building with white siding, when looking from the side; from the front of the building it looked to be designed in the fashion of a cliff face with a single door like crevice in its surface.

"I guess we'd better go in now." Louis said. Louis pushed open the door in between the two rock faces and walked in to the dark Gym.

"Welcome." Said a voice as the gym's lights turned on to reveal that the whole floor was made of rigid and rugged stone jutting up into a natural arena. "Who seeks to challenge Brock, the master of stone?" the voice came from a man across the room that stood on a stone pillar towering above everything else in the building. The ceiling reached up very far. The man who stood above everything wore an orange long-sleeve shirt and baggy green pants. His skin was dark and his hair spiked.

"I, Louis, Challenge you, Brock, to a Pokémon battle for the boulder badge!" Louis declared pointing at Brock. Brock jumped and slid down the slanted pillar that he was standing on, landing gracefully on his feet. Louis approached the arena and dug his heels into the dirt, preparing for a fight. He grabbed Shadow's ball and threw it to the ground. As the ball bounced back up into his hands the Eevee was already in a fighting stance.

"Ee! Vee!" he yelped at the other trainer. Brock smiled and lobbed his own PokéBall down at the ground, a flash of white light revealed his Pokémon, it was his Geodude. The rock with arms began to float.

"Geoduuuuude!" it said.

"Let's see what you're made of, kid." He urged toward Louis. Louis made an intense stance and pointed at the Geodude.

"Shadow, use Tackle!" he shouted. Shadow began to run at the rock Pokémon.

"Ha! You can't hurt a rock Pokémon with a move like tackle; Geodude, use Pound!" the Geodude prepared to swing his fists down at the approaching Eevee. Louis made a devious smile.

"Now, Jump!" he shouted at the Eevee. Shadow yelped and then jumped over the Geodude as its large mitts swung down and pounded into the ground. Shadow landed right behind the other Pokémon.

"Geodude, watch out!" screamed brock.

"Use Iron-Tail!" commanded Louis. Shadow's tail began to shine even more than normal and it turned from a little fluff ball to a deadly steel appendage. "Now!" the Eevee whipped its tail around quickly and hit the Geodude in the back of the head, sending it rolling toward Louis and stopping just before his feet; unconscious.

"How!?" said brock as he returned the injured Pokémon to its PokéBall.

"Good job!" Louis shouted at Shadow as he returned him to his own PokéBall. Brock gritted his teeth and held out another ball.

"This isn't over yet!" he declared before releasing a giant Pokémon from the capsule, it was his Onyx; the giant rock snake made a roar that shook the arena. Louis slid his goggles down to his face and the thick yellow lenses hid his eyes; he held out Chu's capsule.

"I know…" he pressed the button and Chu appeared before him in a ready stance and electricity arching from his red cheek pouches like two miniature lightning storms.

"Pika!" he threatened to the Onyx. The giant rock serpent looked down at him as if he were nothing but a curiosity.

"Onyx, use wrap!" the Onyx roared and then lunged at the Pikachu tail first, trying to grab him.

"Dodge it, then Grass-Knot!" screamed Louis. Chu jumped up and forward; he landed on the Onyx's head. The Pikachu's eyes began to glow green and green roots grew from the floor grabbing the Onyx and holding it down to the ground. Brock looked worried.

"Onyx, break out of it!" the Onyx struggled as much as was possible but it couldn't seem to break out of the grass knot.

"Brick-Break!" ordered Louis. The Pikachu jumped into the air and raised its hand, its paw began to glow white.

"Pikaaaa!" he fell back down on to the head of the Onyx with his hand making contact and creating a crack in the beast's solid exterior.

"Stop! Stop, you win!" shouted Brock, desperately waving his hands back and forth. The roots retracted back into the ground and Pikachu ran back across the body of Onyx to Louis who embraced him in his arms.

"Good work Chu!" he returned his Pokémon to his ball and stood up to walk over and check on the onyx with Brock.

"Good job." He said to Louis. He was spraying potion into the crack in its head and patching it up with rocks from the arena, it was slowly healing and sealing up. "You made fast work of me; I wonder how Misty will do against you and your Pikachu?"

"Will… will your Onyx be okay?" he asked Brock. He turned around and smiled, his eyes were much squinted.

"Oh he'll be fine don't worry." He assured "but you need this." Brock reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge in the shape of an octagon. Before Louis took it from him Louis reached into his pack and pulled out a Hyper-potion.

"Here." He said swapping the potion for the badge. Brock threw down the other bottle and began using the newer, better one.

"Thank you… Louis, and good luck!" as Louis went to exit the building he had forgotten that Chase and Bree were still there. They stood with arms at their sides and their jaws taking a similar path downward.

"I'll be outside…" he said patting chase on the shoulder as he exited the Gym.


	7. Like Father, Like Son

Louis leaned against the wall outside of the Pokémon Gym and counted his blessings as he stared down in awe at his new Boulder badge. It sparkled like a jewel in the sunlight of the noon sky. He had done it; his first step on the path to the Championships was here. Even if he didn't make it that far he still had a lot more to aspire towards – being a great Pokémon Breeder for example. Maybe he should have asked Brock for tips on being a breeder when he was in there; Brock was supposedly an expert on the subject. Regardless of if he was a good trainer or not he still had to thank his Pokémon for doing such a good job. He held their PokéBalls in his hand and he did not say a word – his partners knew he was thankful. The door opened behind him and both of his trainer friends emerged from the rock face. They smiled and showed the badges in their hands. He had been sitting outside for half an hour and he had never noticed how much time had passed.

"How did you guys do?" Louis asked. Chase shrugged.

"We did okay, but Fenrir got pretty beat up, so we should go to the Pokémon Center." He suggested.

"Then we have to pack up our stuff and leave." Breanne said.

"Okay then, let's go."

* * *

They packed up everything they could bring with them that would be useful and then set off to the Pokémon center. Breanne did not even take the time to say a proper farewell to her parents; she instead left a note behind saying goodbye and numerous other clichés when leaving your family behind for something bigger. They found their way back to the all too familiar Pokémon center and met with the nurse there.

"You got your first Badge! Congratulations!" she cheered.

"Thank you." Louis said cheerfully. They received some glances from other trainers in the center, but no one said anything. "Here's my Pokémon." He handed over his two PokéBalls to the woman and she smiled. The two other trainers put theirs upon the counter as well.

"Would you like a free blood test while your Pokémon are here?" she asked casually.

"Blood test?" asked Louis.

"Yes, a rare infection called Pokérus has become more common recently and we are giving free blood tests to see if your Pokémon have it." She smiled like usual.

"Well… Sure I guess. Is that alright with us?" the trio gave sounds of agreement. "They'll take the tests then."

"Excellent! We'll be back in a moment."

Half an hour later of nervous waiting and the nurse returned with the five Pokémon. In her hands she held five pieces of paper and she handed two of them to Louis.

"Thank you!" he said.

"It was my pleasure. Please come back and see us again if you are ever in need." She then stepped off back towards her desk. Louis skimmed over the test results. He had heard of Pokérus before and he knew that it was not a bad thing. It helps your Pokémon grow stronger and makes them more powerful as well as more attuned to their elemental powers. He read up and down the page looking for a sign indicating that they had the infection. Instead he found something different on the page – there was no sign of the nutrients and vitamins entering his Pokémon's blood stream at any time; they were duds. Yet he still beat Brock with hardly any challenge. And then he saw it, at the bottom of the page was a small orange smiley face that had been stamped there. Both of his Pokémon had Pokérus and from the test results it seemed like it would not be going away any time soon either.

This was amazing; his Pokémon had Pokérus!

"What did your test results say?" asked Chase. Louis turned away and crumpled up the papers almost impulsively. He didn't want his friends getting jealous, that would likely just rip a hole in their friendship.

"Negative, no Pokérus." He said with a convincing look of passiveness on his face.

"Me neither." Breanne said with a look of disappointment on her face. She crumpled up her paper and chucked it into a nearby garbage can as she collected her messenger's bag off the ground.

"Same." Sighed a let-down Chase. They gathered their bags and threw the luggage over their shoulders. They walked to the edge of town keeping their heads low and their hoods up to keep away privy rockets.

They made it to the town entrance and exit to the east, and to Mt Moon. They looked out at the rocky canyon that lay before them and exhaled simultaneously at the intimidating sight.

"Let's do this!" cheered Louis.

* * *

Meanwhile, south of Kanto, in the Orange Islands…

A Team Rocket grunt was sitting at a table with a few of his comrades; they were playing a friendly game of poker in the dimly lit room made of steel from ceiling to floor. This one of many hidden bases was well guarded and the overly-cocky nature of its protectors was its only downfall. The grunt put his hand in front of his friends and showed his pair of Kingdras.

"Read 'em and weep boys!" he mocked victoriously. The two other players threw their cards onto the metallic table top and groaned as their friend laughed in triumph.

"Damn you! That's the fifth game so far!" said one of the fiends.

"Maybe he has an Ace up his sleeve?" suggested another voice. The two opponents laughed.

"Ha-ha, yeah… wait, who was that?" a fist came out of nowhere and clocked one man in the jaw – the fist was attached to a burly, hairy arm. The other grunt whipped around and brandished a switch blade, but that was knocked from his hands by the man as well. He received a punch to the gut and just when the last remaining grunt went to stand up the man whipped out a stun gun and electrocuted the man. He convulsed violently before falling to the ground. Numerous other people and Pokémon flooded into the room.

"Okay men! Spread out and find the comms station!" shouted the man who dispatched the others, seemingly the leader. He was a tall man and he had the face of the man in the photo Louis had found of his father.

"Neil! We need your help!" shouted another man. Neil reached down to his belt and produced an ultra-ball. He threw the ball against the wall and a bright light cut through the surrounding shadows. An Umbreon, standing tall and proud called out to its master.

"Ummm-breon!" it cried.

"Are you ready for this, Obsidian?" Asked the big man.

The three-foot-tall black fox wagged its tail and the yellow rings around its slender ebony body glowed bright. "Breon!" he yelped. His red eyes were glinting in the low light of the underground base.

"Then let's do it!"

* * *

He felt guilty for not telling Chase or Breanne about the Pokérus, but he had to be sure that they wouldn't be fawning over his Pokémon all of the time trying to get their own Pokémon infected; it's just not a healthy obsession. Louis kicked up dirt as they made their way through the rocky terrain on their route to Mount Moon. The path was riddled with trainers and wild Pokémon that were primed for battle. After defeating Brock Louis had become almost overly confident in his abilities as a Pokémon trainer, but rightfully so because he tore down any trainer that challenged him along the way.

He made a good bit of Pokédollars from fighting so many opponents on the trail, and so did both of his friends. Many trainers snarled at them as they passed and some just flat-out refused to battle with them because of their previous mêlées. For the most part it seemed to be smooth sailing for the trio to the Pokémon Center in front of Mount Moon. Chase tripped over a large tree branch and ungracefully fell forward, into a field of tall yellow grass.

The head of a Sandshrew poked up out of the grass and it stared at Chase with its deep black eyes. Breanne and Louis stood completely still as the Sandshrew, with its tough yellow hide blending in almost completely with the golden colored grass around it. Chase eyed it back while he reached slowly down to his belt so he could get his Beedrill.

"I'm not gonna hurt you…" he whispered softly. Louis laughed softly at his attempt to calm the creature. "I just want a new friend!" he screamed as he jumped up and threw his PokéBall to the ground. In the resulting flash Stinger appeared, ready to attack.

The Sandshrew jumped back and snarled at his new opponent with a startled look in its eyes.

"Stinger, use Twineedle!" Chase called out. His Beedrill flew up and then buzzed loudly as it swooped down on the Sandshrew with its spiked arms held forward. The Sandshrew curled into a ball and then rolled at its attacker. When they connected, the spears on Stinger's arms only penetrated less than an inch into the shell of the armored Pokémon before being flung away by the sheer force of its rolling attack.

The Pokémon unrolled itself and stood in a ready stance. It moved a step and winced at its wounds, but continued stepping forward to attack. Its claws began to glow a hot white color as it charged forward.

"Stinger, use FuryCutter!" the bug Pokémon buzzed in agreement and then flew forward as fast as it could. It hit the other Pokémon before it could strike and slashed across its yellow armor again and again. The Pokémon flew backwards and rolled across the grassy field, coming to a stop as its back hit a rock with a loud thud.

"Shrewwwww…" it moaned.

"PokéBall, GO!" shouted Chase as he threw an empty PokéBall at the injured rodent Pokémon and it was sucked by a red light into the capsule. It made its point clear that it did not want to go by clawing at the ground before it was vacuumed inside. Chase and the others held their breaths as the ball tumbled back and forth on the ground, and then came to a stop as the button turned from a tense red into a cool white.

"Impressive," said Breanne, "You actually got it on your first try." She was carrying Shell-Shock in her arms and it cheered in agreement. The shiny Eevee on Louis's shoulder yelped the same agreeing tone.

"Are you gonna name this one?" Louis asked. Chase pondered as he walked over to the red topped PokéBall and scooped it up off of the patch of grass that was pushed down.

"That depends if it's a male or a female." He said as he threw the ball up into the air. "Pass me a potion." He said.

Louis reached into his pack and produced a super-potion. He threw the potion straight at Chase and he caught it with both of his hands. The ball bounced off of the ground and cracked open on the seam in the middle of the capsule with a flicker of white light. The Sandshrew appeared, and then fell to the ground in pain. Chase rushed over to it, and so did Louis. Breanne stood back and watched as they tended to the Pokémon.

"He appears to be a male." Louis had learned from numerous books how to tell a male Pokémon from a female without… searching obvious areas. He was serious about being an expert on Pokémon caretaking.

Chase sprayed the Pokémon down with the potion, "Then I'll name him… Dug." He said as he rubbed in the spray on the Pokémon's hide. It made a soothed noise and then sat up.

"Sssshrew?" he hummed.

"You'll be alright, trust me." Spoke Chase with a smile on his wide face. The Sandshrew, now Dug, smiled slightly and stood up. Chase activated the PokéBall again and the Pokémon disappeared in a flash of red light.

Stinger began buzzing behind him, "Oh yeah, I forgot to put you back." He held out the Beedrill's ball and it disappeared into the capsule.

"Let's get going, we still have to get through Mount Moon." Suggested Louis with his arm pointing forward, towards the giant brown mountain in front of them.

* * *

"What are we dealing with here?" asked Neil to one of his lieutenants. The man wore a ball cap and a thick red vest. Communication equipment was swarmed on the wall of the underground base. Two more Team Rocket grunts sat against the wall, gagged and tied.

"Standard comms equipment; the usual." He seemed distant to Neil somehow.

"What is it you're not telling me?" Neil asked. In this light it was apparent that he had a rough and graying beard and moustache.

The man turned to him and sighed. "We found this on the wall." He said as he held out a poster he found on the wall along with many others. "I found it right beside yours…" he said cautiously.

Neil held his breath and covered his mouth compulsively. It said very clearly who they were after:

To be Distributed to ALL Team Rocket stations

WANTED

Louis J. Edleson  
Son of current wanted list bounty: Neil Edleson.  
Wanted for: Assault and resistance against Team Rocket personnel.  
Must be apprehended ALIVE!  
Was last spotted en route to Cerulean City with two other Pokémon trainers. Use extreme caution, target is armed with an electric baton and his Pokémon are considered by sources to be "Impressive and strong".

Below all of this information was a picture of him in his usual attire with a shiny Eevee on his shoulder; two more trainers were cropped out of the photo that seemed to have been taken from a distance. Neil Crumpled the poster in his large hands and tossed it at the face of one of the Team Rocket grunts. He grabbed the terrified man by his black collar and hoisted him higher than he could stand.

"If any harm comes to my boy…" he threatened as he gritted his teeth. The grunt was nearly crying, he had heard of what Neil was famous for and he saw his poster every day at his post – this man was fear itself for anyone working with team rocket. He grumbled and tried to scream with the gag still in his mouth. Obsidian the Umbreon came up behind his master and nudged his leg. Neil looked down and saw the insistent look in his companion's eyes. Neil looked back at his quarrel and dropped him. The man made a sigh of relief but flew back into a panic when he noticed the Umbreon's red eyes were glowing a strange pink color.

"Put him to sleep and then use DreamEater… I need to know what he knows." Neil said. The grunt struggled to get away, but it was too late. He fell asleep and the Umbreon jumped on top of him as he searched his memories. Neil walked back over to his lieutenant and sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"I contacted my son in Cerulean, he'll watch over Louis." Said the man.

"But I thought your son was escorting another trainer through the Pokémon league right now?"

"They can travel together; I already called him and he said he would be honored." The man smiled with teeth showing.

Neil smiled slightly as well, "Honored? Huh, you'd think I was a Messiah of some kind… I'm no hero, I'm just a man who knows what's right and what's wrong." He turned to face his Umbreon as it sapped the man's memories, "I just hope I'm doing what's right…"


	8. New Friends

Louis gulped down that bottle of sparkling and refreshing water faster than he had ever thought possible. In such an arid and rocky place you were sure to work up quite a thirst. The three trainers sat in the rounded bottom chairs of the Pokémon center that resided just outside the entrance to mount Moon; arguably the largest cave in the Kanto region. Louis had peered into the cave's rocky entrance just before they entered the Pokémon center. It was pitch black through and through.

Breanne took off her sweater to reveal her white tank top underneath. Chase was eyeing her chest when Louis slapped him upside the head.

"Are we heading in yet?" she asked. Louis scoffed at Chase and turned back to her.

"Yeah; Chu should be able to light the way." He got up out of his chair and pointed to the door. "Well… no time like today." He sighed. Breanne tied her sweater around her waist and got out of her seat as well. Chase followed as they opened the door and gazed out at the afternoon sun. They all squinted and held up their arms as a shield to protect their vision.

Breanne released Shell-shock from his capsule and the two boys followed up by freeing Chu and Fenrir. The brilliant flashes of light almost blinded them as well in the already harsh sunlight. Fenrir posed with its behind on the ground while Chu hopped around in excitement.

"Pika!" he cheered. Louis smiled and then pointed to the cave.

"Can you light the way, Chu?" he asked. The mouse Pokémon bounced up and down.

"Pikapi!" it replied. Louis giggled and ran off toward the entrance, eager to get started.

"I hope I catch another Pokémon in here…" said Breanne as she looked down at her Squirtle. Shell-shock smiled and cheered.

"Squirt-Squirt!" he shouted.

"Let's get this over with…" Chase sighed.

* * *

Cerulean City was as calm as it usually was this time of day, of any day of any week. The town in general was quite tranquil no matter what, except when too many trainers came to town. A Young woman, probably around the same age as Breanne, stood with a small brown Pokémon in her arms. She was wearing a long purple coat that spread out past her hips and tight jeans that showed off her legs. The Eevee in her arms looked as happy as any Eevee ever looked, and it panted in the harsh rays of the sun.

"Alice! Are you coming or what?" said a tan skinned man with slanted eyes. She looked up suddenly and so did her Eevee. The man before her wore a bandana and a jacket with rolled up sleeves. His short black hair barely rustled in the wind. Alice's long brown hair on the other hand was caught by the rogue winds and blew into her light colored face.

"Yeah, I'm coming Masaru." She replied as she stepped after the boy who looked to be maybe around seventeen years old.

They sat down in the restaurant beside the Pokémon center and ordered their food. As they waited, Masaru explained the situation. "My father called me and told me about someone who would be coming through here soon – the son of someone important. He'll be joining us with two others."

"That's fine by me…" she replied very shyly. She had a look of bashfulness about her, even as her Eevee jumped around beside her.

"You're a good trainer," said the man, "I've been told that they are as well, so cheer up. We'll have some new friends soon enough."

"Someone to… train with?"

"Exactly!" he said cheerfully. The Eevee kept bouncing around so Alice grabbed it and calmed it in her arms.

"Calm down Lily… we're in public right now." She said to the small brown fox Pokémon. The waitress arrived with their food and they began to eat – not another word was spoken that meal.

* * *

"Chuuu?" said the Pikachu as the trio navigated through the rock ridden terrain of the Mount Moon caves. The cave twisted and turned, seemingly at random as if the cave itself was moving, just to confuse them and other travelers. Chu's cheek pouches lit up with electricity and it illuminated a large radius from his position. Their footsteps echoed as they walked through the hollow caverns of this dark decrepit looking cave system. They were coming upon a break in the caves roof, a hole that shone down moonlight into the cave; they had been down there a while.

Meanwhile the trainers were having their own conversation.

"… And then he said: "That's not a Snorlax OR a Jynx; that's my wife!"" the three of them burst into almost spontaneous laughter at Louis's joke.

"It… wasn't e-e-even that funny!" uttered Chase as he tried to breathe normally. Breanne shook it off pretty quick and went on to her own joke.

"Okay, my turn. So there was this-!"

All three of them stopped dead when they heard the sound of a rock being kicked by something in the distance. They turned to see a small group of petite pink Pokémon. A group of Clefairy were dancing in the darkness of the caves before they happened to notice their visitors.

"Clef?" they all sung in unison.

Breanne stepped forward and Shell-shock followed her, "Let's catch ourselves a Clefairy…" she whispered.

The small fairy Pokémon jumped off in many directions, but while the majority ran for the cover of the darkness one remained in a stagnant pose. Unlike any Clefairy they had heard of before, this one wore an angry face.

"_It is said that happiness will come to those who see a gathering of Clefairy dancing under a full moon."_ Said "Dexter" suddenly from Louis's pocket.

"Well, isn't that lucky." Chase murmured.

Shell-shock and the Clefairy had entered an intense stare down contest while they waited to begin the inevitable battle, "This one has sass!" said Breanne, "I need to catch it!"

"It's a female." Said Louis off to the side of Chase.

"Whatever it is I'm gonna catch it…" she said, "Shell! Use Watergun!"

"Squirt!" it called back to its master. The turtle Pokémon gathered water in between its large cheeks and then sprayed it at its opponent. The Clefairy dodged the liquid assault and jumped up to pounce on Shell-shock.

"Use Withdraw!" she screamed and it echoed through the hollow halls. The squirtle retracted into its shell and when the Clefairy made contact it only ended up hurting its hand.

"Fairy!" it cried.

"Now, RapidSpin!" Breanne commanded to her Pokémon. The Squirtle's shell began to rotate, faster and faster until it was a spinning blur on the ground.

"Clefairy?" said the confused little fairy Pokémon. It was too late for it to react as the shell spun out and struck the Clefairy in its side sending it reeling into the cave wall. It got up to attack again but the squirtle was one step ahead.

Without a command from his master, Shell-shock tackled the Clefairy and sent it back down to the ground. "PokéBall, GO!" Breanne called out as the ball spun through the air and then hit the Pokémon in her head. It was sucked into the capsule with hardly any effort and then the ball settled, as if it had simply given up.

"Yeah! I caught a Clefairy!" she cheered as she picked up the ball and rubbed it against her cheek. "I'll name you Puff." She said.

"Heh, Puff?" laughed Louis.

"Yeah, something wrong?" she said with her eyebrow cocked upwards. Louis saw that Chu was giving him a warning look. It seemed that even male Pokémon found some disdainful thoughts for the actions and behaviors of the opposite sex.

"Nothing, it's a nice name." he said.

"Yeah, a real keeper, that one." Chase said to take the heat off of his friend. Breanne rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"Keep up, boys."

Behind them, less than twenty metres away was a man, a man in a black uniform with the signature red R standing out on his back. He sneered and continued following them behind the stalagmites and boulders that lined the floors of the cave. He picked up a small radio-like device out of his pocket and held it to his devious looking lips.

"I found them, boss…" he whispered.

A voice came through the headset he had on, _"Good, follow them, but don't do anything unless I give the word. Understand?"_

"Of course."

* * *

"When will they be here?" asked a tired Alice as she yawned into the night air. Lily, the Eevee, was asleep in her arms while the two trainers sat down on a bench overlooking the entrance to Mount Moon on the Cerulean side of the cave. Masaru shrugged.

"I don't know. They should be here in less than a few hours though." He answered. Alice yawned again and Masaru tried not to yawn, himself.

"What time is it?" she asked. Masaru looked down at his many wrist attachments and searched for the clock.

"One o'clock; get some rest and I'll wake you when they're here." He did not have to tell her twice because she fell asleep the moment he said that. He sighed and hunched forward to look out over the hill that overlooked Mount Moon. This would be a long night for him.

* * *

"It's damn cold in this cave." Complained a shivering Breanne as she put her sweater back on. Chase continued staring at her with the same attentive eyes and Louis nudged his shoulder once again to keep him in reality.

"She's out of your league…" Louis whispered to him. Chase shrugged off his touch angrily and kept walking forward. "Caves are cold." Said Louis, "It's kind of a rule."

"Yeah, well it sucks." She said. Chase looked down at Fenrir and kneeled down to whisper in the dog Pokémon's ear. The Growlithe nodded and ran off slightly ahead of the group.

"Where is Fenrir going?" Louis asked, but Chase didn't respond. From a few feet in front of them, a flame lit up in the darkness and the Pokémon kept walking forward with fire spewing from its mouth. As the group walked forward still, they realized that the air around them felt a lot more comfortable and warm than it once was.

"Thanks, Chase!" Breanne said as she smiled. Chase tried to hide his blushing face as they continued through the dark caves.

* * *

After two hours of confusing navigation and Pokémon battles with other adventurers caught in the twisting stone maze, they finally saw light at the end of the long tunnel.

"Oh, thank god." Exasperated Louis as Chu powered down its crackling cheek pouches.

"Pika…" he moaned tiredly at his master.

"You need a rest Chu, here." He held out his PokéBall and the Pokémon jumped up to touch the button and get sucked back in. Louis placed the ball back on his belt and grabbed Chase's shoulder. "We may make it to the second gym today, are you ready for that?" he asked.

"Naw, I may have to train a bit before I face Misty…" he grabbed Fenrir's PokéBall and looked down at the Pokémon that trailed beside him. "All of my Pokémon are weak to water, so I'll need to train a lot before I face the water gym."

"I've got my Pikachu; so I'll be fine." He turned to see Breanne walking in front of them, "She'll do alright too I guess."

Breanne slowed down so that she was walking right beside them. "What do you know about Misty?" she asked them.

"I know that she and Brock were close at one time, and that she uses only water Pokémon. Whereas a lot of gym leaders use whatever type they want when not in their respective gyms; Misty uses the same Pokémon that she uses in the gym." Louis explained. He had watched a lot of documentaries on the Gym leaders of Kanto and beyond so he prided himself on knowledge pertaining to their lives. They were not even twenty feet from the exit now.

"That's interesting." She said. They took in deep breaths as the night air entered their lunges and they stepped onto the green grass that shone in the moonlight from the dew drops on each blade of green. Masaru came to attention from atop the hill that the bench sat upon. He shook Alice awake and pointed at Louis.

"Our new friends are here…" he whispered.


	9. Cerulean

Louis threw down Shadow's PokéBall and the small silver fox's coat glittered in the moonlight. He yelped and then jumped up on his master's shoulder. Alice watched in amazement from atop the green hill that overlooked their new friends.

"Is that… a shiny Eevee?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Yeah, I think it is." Masaru answered as he stared off towards the trio of talented trainers. The three of them talked and went on their normal conversation as they would when they weren't being watched, although they didn't know they were being watched anyways. Masaru grabbed his messenger bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Let's get going." He said as he slid down the hill.

"Wait for me!" Alice quipped. As the moon shone above them the two trainers slid down the hill on their feet and down to meet their new comrades. Masaru came to a stop right in front of Louis and he held his hands up defensively when Louis reached for his belt. Before Masaru could say anything, Alice came down the hillside and tripped when she hit the bottom. Lily went flying out of her arms. Louis caught Alice in his arms swiftly before she could hit the cold ground and her breathing began to slow as she looked up at her savior. Shadow jumped off of Louis's shoulder and pranced over to tend to the other Eevee.

"Th-thank you!" she said.

Louis smiled and the wide smile squinted his eyes, "Don't mention it." He said back. Louis got her to her feet and then he turned to Masaru, and his smile faded. "Who are you two?" he asked sternly as he let go of the woman's hand, gently.

"My name is Masaru; I'm an experienced trainer and I'm showing her the ropes." He held out his hand and Louis took it, respectfully, "We've been looking for more people to travel with us and you looked like a nice bunch."

Louis regarded him cautiously and took a quick glance down at the boy's PokéBall belt; it was full. "So… you want to travel with us?" he asked. After having seen if the other Eevee was okay, Shadow returned to his master's shoulder and yelped cheerfully.

"Yeah; lots of trainers travel in groups on their way to the Pokémon league. Besides…" he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "I couldn't defeat Viridian gym… so I need to get better and traveling with other trainers helps a lot."

"We just met you, why would we travel with you?" Louis combated. Masaru's smile faded now as well and he sighed.

"Fine, I knew this wasn't going to work; come with me, we have a lot to talk about."

"What about?"

"You'll want to hear this, trust me." He said as he walked away and Alice followed slowly after him. Louis decided to follow him as well, so naturally so did his friends.

He walked up beside Alice and held out his hand, "My name is Louis, pleased to meet you?" he asked politely. Alice took his hand and he noticed that she was blushing.

"My name is Alice…"

"That's a nice name," he said. Alice began blushing even more, until Louis broke the moment, "What's he talking about anyways?"

She looked up, startled, "Wait… you don't know?" she said aloud.

"They weren't supposed to know, Alice. I was told but they weren't." Masaru interrupted.

"Tell us what, what's going on?" he asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble, but we need to talk." He stopped and turned around to look at Louis, "Will you trust me?" Masaru asked.

"I shook your hand, didn't I?" he said. Masaru smiled and then scoffed loudly.

"Good point… I like you, now follow." He said loosely. Louis saw no reason not to continue following.

* * *

They followed the man into an apartment building and then into the laundry room, oddly. He put his finger to his mouth signifying silence, so the rest of them hushed. He looked around for anyone and warmed up his hands when he saw no one was there. He then pushed the buttons on the machine in a certain order and the vending machine shifted to the side via a mechanism below it implanted in the floor. A metal door with a slit in it was there in the space behind the vending machine. It opened and a man with brown eyes peered through.

"Oh, Masaru! Come in!" the sound of locks clicking and whirring from behind the metal door. They entered the dim bunker like space and the vending machine closed back in place behind them.

"I have some friends." Masaru said softly. The man nodded, but then pointed at Louis.

"Is that-?"

"SHHH!" Masaru made it clear that he did not want him knowing yet. The man made a gesture of acknowledgement and then went off into another room. Masaru signaled for them to enter the room with him. They sat down around a round wooden table in the center of the amazingly homey room, considering that it still felt like a secret bunker.

"You're wanted by the Rockets…" Masaru said with his fingers weaved together on the table, "Right?"

"Yeah… we're not doing so good with them right now." Answered Louis without thought to who he might be revealing this information to.

"People like me allow people like you to walk free." He said with a straight but intense face, "I'm wanted as well; the difference is that I have the Poké-Power to face these guys."

"So, you want to protect us?" Chase asked.

"Yes, I was assigned by my superiors to watch over you."

Alice interrupted with a raised eyebrow, "I thought his Fath-!" Masaru cupped his hand tightly over her mouth.

"What was that?" Louis asked.

"Nothing!" Masaru said, looking startled. He let go of her mouth and sat back. "She was thinking of another client."

Louis was still having a hard time grasping the situation, "So… you want to protect us free of charge?"

"Yeah!"

"… And you don't think your "Clients" might find that sketchy?" Louis shrugged as he pointed out the biggest flaw in Masaru's little fib.

Masaru resisted the urge to move his brows and let the sweat drip down his face, "W-We need to stick together! We need to stick together if we want to defeat the Rockets!" he looked exhausted from stress.

After a long stare-down Louis clapped his hands, "I guess we can trust you then." He shrugged again.

Masaru was noticeably relieved to hear his lie had worked. "Good, well let's get out of here; these places are supposed to be used only in emergencies." He got up and pushed his chair back into position at the table. "Thanks for letting us use this place, Carlos." He called out down the hall.

"Don't mention it! Come back anytime!" he called back as his voice echoed hollowly. Masaru grabbed his bag and then shoed everyone out through the false vending machine. It closed tightly behind them again.

"Where to now?" asked Louis. Masaru shook his head and laughed a bit.

"You're the boss, not me. You decide where to go and we follow you." Masaru explained falsely. Louis pointed to Alice.

"How does she fit into all of this?" he asked. Masaru's lips began to tremble as he came up with anything he could.

"She's another client! We can take numerous bodies at once." He said. Everyone looked back to Alice for conformation, she blushed and then the color drained from the rest of her face and all she could do was nod in agreement.

"Okay… so why isn't she leading?" Louis asked suspiciously.

"Let's not get caught up in specifics." Masaru said.

"Fine then, let's go find some place to stay for a few nights." Spoke Breanne for the first word she had said in a while.

* * *

The five of them checked into two separate rooms in the same average looking hotel, it did not cost them much of their winnings. The place looked rugged and worn on the outside however, and Chase was iffy about staying there in the first place. The woman at the front desk was very kind, but there was one small misreading that made things a bit awkward: Breanne and Chase were booked into a room with Masaru, and in the other room were Louis and Alice. Alice assured that it would be fine, and Louis was fine with the arrangement as long as they were still in the same area of the hotel. Inside herself however, Alice was a nervous wreck and it was her awkwardness that made her say that she was fine with it. She was never good around people and her only real close friend was her Eevee, Lily. Every time that she would glance over at Louis to see if he was feeling just the same, the boy turned to her suddenly as if he knew he was being watched. She would jump back and turn her head away, hoping that he wouldn't think any less of her for being so distant. When they got to their rooms (Which were adjacent to one another) the doors were locked. Masaru gave each of the trainers their own key cards and they prepared to enter their rooms.

"Get some sleep until ten o'clock, we'll talk more then." He said as he slipped into his room with Chase and Breanne following him. As Louis opened the door and politely allowed Alice to step in first, they realized that this hotel was a lot better on the inside than on the outside. The two queen sized beds were covered in a sleek fabric and the drapes effectively blocked any light coming through the windows; just in case. The TV was at least forty inches wide and the lamps on the side tables were just bright enough when they turned them on. Louis closed the door behind them and Alice jumped from the noise.

"Sorry." He said. Alice blushed and went over to one of the beds and put her bag on it; solidifying her ownership of it. A PokéBall with little dots on it fell from her purse and rolled onto the wooden floor.

"Oh no!" she squeaked as its button depressed on the hard floor and the ball flashed brightly. A small hunched over quill-less echidna looking creature with dark blue skin appeared from the capsule and called out its name.

"Cyndaquil?" it asked insecurely. It looked up at Louis and appeared confused.

"Aw, sweet! A Cyndaquil!" he whipped out his PokéDex and the device came alive with a robotic voice.

"_Cyndaquil protects itself by flaring up the flames on its back. The flames are vigorous if the Pokémon is angry. However, if it is tired, the flames sputter fitfully with incomplete combustion."_ Said the voice.

"Huh, he doesn't have any flames on his back." Louis noted.

"That's because he's not angry or scared." Alice answered. "His name is Spitz, because he always spits out fire randomly."

"Wait… you said randomly?" Louis began to develop a concern for the hotel.

"Not really, usually when he's nervous." Alice replied. Louis looked down and noticed that the Pokémon was shaking slightly.

"I'd feel more comfortable if you put him back…" he remarked. Alice nodded and grabbed up the petite ball from the floor.

"Spitz, return!" she said. The Pokémon stood still as its master returned it to its home. She put the ball back in her purse and sat down on the bed, unsure what to say next. She didn't have to, because Louis had run off into the bathroom to get redressed. He returned in less than a minute with a t-shirt and sleep pants on instead of his more stylish attire. He was brushing his teeth as he walked out of the bathroom and he stopped to ask with a gurgled voice:

"_Do you need the restroom?"_ he said as he pointed backwards with his left thumb.

"Yes… thank you." She walked off to the bathroom with her things and left Louis sitting there with his tooth brush in his mouth, needing to spit.

"_Crap…"_ he said.

* * *

After she returned, ready for bed, he went in and spit before washing out his now TOO minty fresh mouth. He walked out still scraping his tongue of the harsh taste and noticed that she was already in bed reading a book of some kind. He went to his own bed and got under the covers. Before he turned off the lamp he remembered that Shadow was still in his ball, and so was Chu. Louis always slept with his Pokémon, to allow them some time to get out of that cooped up capsule of captivity.

He released both Shadow and Chu from their respective PokéBalls and Alice glanced over to see what he was doing. The two Pokémon nestled up beside their master and both let out a little yawn.

"You sleep with your Pokémon?" she asked. Louis had almost forgotten that she was there and he turned suddenly when he heard her voice.

"Yeah… is that a problem?" he retorted. She grabbed her PokéBall and released the Eevee from inside of it. Lily curled up beside her own master, but not before getting a glance in at Shadow; his gleaming silver fur interested her.

"No, so do I." she said, blushing yet again.

'Well… I'm going to bed; Goodnight." He said, much to her surprise since she was still reading a book. She involuntarily put down her book and turned off her own light just as he turned his off.

"Goodnight…" she whispered.


	10. Royal

Outside of the hotel wherein the five trainers were staying, a small creep of a man was crouched behind a dumpster. "Okay, I've tracked them to some trash motel in Cerulean City. Orders boss?" asked the strange looking grunt with the red R on his back.

"_Get some… local help; then give them a rude awakening."_ The man on the radio said as he chuckled softly.

"Are these orders comin' straight from the big guy upstairs?" asked the now uptight looking grunt.

"_You are NOT to question my orders! Understand!"_ The man said with a heavy amount of resentment for his colleague in his voice.

"Sure thing, boss." he said. He put the radio back in his knapsack and walked off into the night. "I need a better job…"

"Hey you!" he heard someone call behind him. He turned around and received a face full of another man's fist because of it. Next thing he knew he was awake in the middle of Mount moon, without a soul in sight, luckily the men were kind enough to leave him a flashlight, the only source of hope in the otherwise gloomy surroundings of the cave. He'd been had.

He grabbed for his radio and realized that his backpack was gone. "This isn't happening, I was mugged. No! Wait! There's probably someone protecting the brats! I gotta' report this to the Boss!" he reached for his radio again and decided instead to put his palm to his face. "I'm an idiot."

* * *

Louis awoke from his slumber after he heard someone rapping on the door. He threw the covers over the other Pokémon on his bed, rubbed his eyes awake, and made his way towards the door. When he opened it, Masaru was standing there with a black back pack in his hands. He dropped it in front of Louis and handed him a note.

"This was attached to the bag." He said plainly.

Louis held the note at eye level and read it. It was scrawled in a hastily hand written form.

_Masaru,_

_Keep a better eye open; one look in this sack will tell you why._

And that was the end of the note. Louis stood still for a moment, and then realized that Masaru wanted him to take a look inside of the black knapsack. Louis bent down and unzipped the bag, it revealed a baton a lot like his, but without a shock function, a notepad with details about his targets; them. Beside those were a change of clothes and then a radio.

"What in the hell is this?" asked Louis, even though he knew he most likely answer.

"Team Rockets have been following you." He grabbed the bag and the note out of Louis's hands and threw them behind himself, into the hall carelessly.

"Yeah, but who the hell put that there?" he retorted, trying to take the subject off of himself.

"Another member of our organization probably; a resistance member." Masaru answered as he made to look like he was checking the time on his watch. Alice stirred in her sleep behind Louis and made a soft breathing noise as she turned over.

"They're watching us!?" he seemed outraged at being followed by more than just one organization.

"Probably not; we're everywhere, in every town."

"WHO is: WE?" Louis put unnecessary strain on his words. Masaru was careful with his words; he didn't want to reveal too much information to him just yet. The less he knew the safer he was, but maybe it was time he knew.

"We're a group that opposes Team Rocket."

"Do you even have a name?"

"No need for one." Masaru fibbed. Louis was radiating a feeling of distrust, but retained his cool.

"What time is it?" he asked as he stared down at Masaru's watch-like devices up and down his forearm.

"Nine thirty; you getting up?" Masaru asked, with a hint of suggestion in his voice.

"Maybe, why?"

"There's a pretty good breakfast place down the road, and the rest of our friends are out cold." He said, revealing his suggestion. Louis chuckled.

"Sure, let me get ready." Louis said before closing the door.

* * *

Louis put on another change of the same clothes and then went downstairs, he really liked that outfit. His goggles rested on his forehead over his tousled hair and he hurried down the stairs like a scurrying Rattata. Masaru was waiting for him by the chairs in the lobby of their hotel. Without saying anything, Masaru walked over to the front doors and opened them, motioning for Louis to follow him through. Louis rushed over to the door; the only things on his person were his wallet and his PokéBalls, as well as his baton.

As they made their way out of the parking lot of the motel, Louis looked down at Masaru's waist and noticed that he took the baton that used to belong to whoever was shadowing them. They were only a few metres from the entrance to the streets when Masaru spoke.

"I need to level with you." He said. Louis looked up at him, even though Masaru was not looking at him.

"What is it?" asked Louis as they continued down the sidewalk.

"I… I wasn't ordered to watch over you by who you thought." He stuttered as he thought about how to explain this.

Louis just continued to stare at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Do you know who your father is?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, he's some sort of anti-rocket rebel, why are you asking?"

"Well… it seems you don't know everything about him…"

Louis grabbed the baton on his belt – slowly – as he watched Masaru's lips moving.

"He… doesn't work alone… I'm in his resistance group."

Louis's hand let go of the weapon and he stopped walking.

"I was sent by your father to keep you out of trouble on your way through the league." He said as he turned away from Louis so he would not have to look him in his trusting eyes. Louis's eyebrows lifted upon his forehead and his mouth dropped open.

"What?" was all he could think of to say.

"Your father was one of the founders of the movement. He's a hero…" Masaru hoped that these petty compliments would help sway his opinion of Masaru's previous lies. Louis could not think of any other reaction that would express what he felt. His father… was concerned?

"I don't understand?"

"You're wanted by the Rockets, and they know you're his son." He grabbed Louis's shoulder, "They want to use you to get to him."

_We need you to help get your daddy… it's that simple._

"That… makes sense, actually." Louis was still trying to grasp the fact that his father was more important than he thought.

_This world is a dangerous place…_

"Now, about breakfast…" nudged Masaru, "If you still don't mind traveling with me."

Louis smiled and nudged him back, "You're buying."

* * *

The two trainers sat down at a local restaurant that Masaru had recommended, and Louis had to admit that the food was good. After a half hour of gobbling down pancakes with delicious maple syrup, Louis was raring to go.

"So, what are we gonna do today?" he said as he put the fork down beside his plate.

"I figured we'd go down by the river and see if we can catch any Pokémon." Masaru suggested as he adjusted his headband.

"But… you already have six Pokémon…" Louis pointed to Masaru's belt and Masaru shrugged back.

"That doesn't mean I can't catch more." He replied. Louis crossed his arms, prepared for his own rebuttal.

"How are we going to catch river Pokémon without a fishing rod, hm?"

Masaru reached into his messenger bag and produced from it two folded up devices. He partially unfolded one to prove that it was indeed a Pokémon fishing rod. "We can use these." He folded them back up and returned them to his sack, but then took one out again after consideration. "Actually… you can have this one."

"Sweet, thanks!" graciously said Louis as he took the rod from Masaru's hands. It was in good enough shape to catch more than just a Magikarp, so he was happy.

Masaru pushed his plate forward to show that he was done. "Still no hard feelings about your father?" he asked. Louis stared off into space then. Why hadn't his father tried to contact him first? Why couldn't he have been there in the first place? Why did he leave?

"No… it's fine." Was how he decided to answer.

"Well then," Masaru got up out of the booth and grabbed his bag, "Let's get going to route twenty-four then." He said.

* * *

Route twenty-four had many trainers looking for challengers, but Masaru and Louis were not here to fight, just to catch. They slid down the hill beside the bridge so as to avoid the annoying influx of trainers there. "I get challenged all the time by these newbies." Masaru had said. They reached the bottom of the hill and sat down on the smooth stones that lined the river's sides. The water was calm today and Louis could see a Poliwag jumping up and down in the water a ways away.

Louis cast out his fishing rod with the bait and all attached, and immediately snagged something. Before Masaru had even gotten his rod casted, Louis was yanking on his own rod like a mad-man. He jerked and pulled with all his might before the Pokémon came flying out of the water. It landed painfully on the ground and cried out.

"Hooo~ooorsea!" cried the sea-horse Pokémon. The Horsea got to its feet (or tail as it was) and looked at the trainer with sad eyes.

"That makes no sense," Masaru said, "Horseas don't live around here?" he looked down at the Pokémon, curiously. Louis reached down and noticed that his hook had snagged its tail, so he carefully pulled it from the curl in the Pokémon's tail and picked the Horsea up.

"It's a male." Pointed out Louis.

"Yeah, but how did it get here?"

"Horsea?" it said again.

"Maybe its trainer abandoned it." Said Louis solemnly. Masaru threw a PokéBall into Louis's hand and pointed at the Horsea.

"Only one way to find out." He said. Louis put the Horsea down on the ground and pointed the PokéBall at Horsea, before throwing it and capturing the Pokémon in the capsule. The ball barely shook as it came to a stop on the damp, grass covered ground.

"I guess that doesn't really answer our question." Sighed Louis. Masaru grabbed the ball and put it in Louis's hand.

"It tells us that he has no trainer, don't you want to be that trainer?" he motioned at the ball before stepping back.

Louis looked down at the ball and then smiled with teeth, "I'll name him Royal!" he said.

"Why Royal?" Masaru questioned with crossed arms.

"Because I always thought that Horseas looked regal in a way, like a prince." Louis shrunk the ball back to size and deposited it on his belt.

"We'd better take him to the Pokémon center just in case." Suggested Masaru. Louis put his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his new rod.

"Okay."

* * *

The tests showed up as negative for any Pokémon related disease; which meant that Royal didn't have Pokérus either, but he would most likely catch it in the next few days when being around Shadow and Chu for so long. He was glad to have a new friend and was eager to see how Shadow and Chu would react to their new teammate. The sun still wasn't in the highest point in the sky, which meant that they still had lots of time to be spent training. Masaru went to the park in the middle of Cerulean city and sat down on the bench there. Kids were playing with their Pokémon in the park and everything seemed so innocent for a time. It was so far away from the darkness of Team Rocket and their plans. Louis grabbed all three of his PokéBalls and dropped them to the ground in front of him. From the three capsules appeared the Eevee, Pikachu, and Horsea.

Both Shadow and Chu looked at Royal with curiosity and he stared back at them nervously.

"Hor… Sea?"

"Pikapi?"

"Eevee!"

"Pika?"

"Ee! Ee!" the small silver Eevee began to hop up and down.

"Pipi!" the Pikachu approached the Horsea even closer. "Pipi, Pikachu, pika, pika!" he said. Shadow approached as well.

"Vee!"

"Horsea?"

"Pika!"

"Horsea!"

"They seem to be getting along well." Said Masaru as he giggled at the Pokémon's conversation. Louis thought it was interesting how Pokémon acted so much like people, maybe he should have written that down in his breeder notes. The three Pokémon began to play in the sandbox nearby and Masaru and Louis continued talking about the situation that they were in.

"So, my dad is the leader of your organization?" Louis asked.

"Yeah, he's been like a father to lots of us." Masaru smiled. It hurt Louis to think that he didn't get to spend enough time with his father; and now that he knew the truth it hurt even more because he felt selfish for wanting his father back home with him and his mother, because the world needed him. "He's off in the Orange Islands right now, beating some Rocket ass!" he cheered.

"Where do you fit into this then?" Louis wondered.

"My father is one of the lieutenants in our organization, and a good friend of your father." He leaned over to Louis, ever so slightly and then whispered, "Have you been thinking of joining?"

"What!? I-I-I still have Gym badges to get and then I have to defeat the league; I still have so much to do before I commit like that."

"I understand, but trust me when I say that by the end of our journey, you'll be itching to beat down Team Rocket with a vengeance!" Masaru said almost menacingly. Louis did not want to live a life of such violence, Pokémon battles were the only violence he needed in his life.

"We should probably get back to the hotel now." Louis said. Louis called back his Pokémon and put them back in their PokéBalls.

"Okay, let's get going." Said Masaru.

* * *

"OH MY GOSH! It's so cute!" Shrieked Breanne as she grabbed up the Horsea off of the ground. Louis laughed as the Pokémon seemed worried by all the sudden attention it was getting.

"His name is Royal." Louis pointed out. The Horsea whinnied and jumped out of Breanne's arms to go back to its new master.

They were all in Louis and Alice's room right now, examining Louis's new Pokémon and coming up with a plan for training. Royal was bouncing on the bed with his tail as the trainers talked.

"Should we just go to the bridge on Route Twenty-four and challenge some people? Should be easy." Masaru suggested as he tossed his PokéBall back and forth in between his hands. Louis was getting curious as to what Pokémon was hidden within that capsule.

"Sounds like a straight forward plan to me." Agreed Chase with Fenrir at his side like a loyal guard dog protecting its master. "Get in, win some cash and train, and get out."

"Lily and me will go train against some of the wild Pokémon, I think…"

"Eevee!" called out the small brown Pokémon in her arms.

Louis beckoned Royal back into his PokéBall and put it on his waist. "Let's go!" he called, ready for the next battle.


	11. When Man Plays Mew

Years ago…

The dark mansion overlooking all of Cinnabar Island had an eerie presence about it ever since it was first built so many years ago. However, the mansion above the rocky terrain was truly more sinister in its purpose than anyone had assumed. Any rumor made about the ominous looking building was always brushed off as silly superstition, but those people simply did not understand the true nature of the construct. Deep in its dark halls, scientists worked day in and day out creating what they believed to be the world's most powerful Pokémon.

After bringing back a particular and peculiar Pokémon specimen from South America, the researchers got to work splicing and experimenting. The Pokémon they had discovered was only told of in legends; Mew, the ancestor of all Pokémon. They had used its powerful genes in their cloning experiments, trying to create a more powerful, larger, dangerous version of the ancient Pokémon. After so many failed experiments and dead clones, the scientists had nearly given up hope. But a successful clone was made and the scientists rejoiced that it had survived its procedures.

The rooms of the mansion were lined with tubes containing failed experiments suspended in jelly of some kind. And in the center of the largest room in the mansion, sat the curled up clone in his own cloning tube; sleeping. Lights on monitors and consoles flickered displaying his status, and all of the scientists gathered in the room to monitor all of the different machinery. They congratulated each other and shook hands, happy that it was all finally over. All they would need to do is administer surgery to its brain, making it completely submissive.

"Congratulations Mr. Fuji, we'll take it from here."

"I'm just glad it's over, and even though he is not present, I'm sure that Blaine is proud of your work here." Replied the small older man referred to as Fuji. The scientist watched as Mr. Fuji left the mansion and went off to wherever he was going. His money had helped bring their research a long way. The scientist adjusted his round glasses and then walked back into the laboratory wherein the clone was kept.

A woman scientist walked over to the tube and began watching the clone with great interest, marking down words in her note pad as she studied the slight movements it made. And then, it began to think.

_Where am I?_

_What are those voices?_

_Those voices!? They are… outside, but outside of what?_

_I want to be outside…_

_What is this feeling?_

_My… mind… feels strange…_

_What… what am I?_

Without warning, its eyes opened wide and it began to uncurl from its hunched over state. The Pokémon was most certainly intimidating as it flexed its thin arms and twiddled its balled finger tips against one another; examining the medical tubes attached all around its body. The woman fell back and dropped everything, scrambling over to the head researcher.

"Doctor! It's awake!" all of the researchers gathered around as the creature began to awaken from its comatose condition. It did not bang on the glass, it did not thrash about, it did not even make a noise; none that the ears could hear anyways.

_What…_ it began to delve into the minds of the individuals around it, involuntarily, _what… is my…_ it began to slowly understand the patterns behind human speech, and it spoke to all of the scientists through its psychic powers. _What is my… name?_

The head researcher let his jaw hang open as he approached the tube and grinned. "Your name shall be… MewTwo." He said as he beamed gleefully at his experiment.

_Mew… Two?_ It scanned their minds, its understanding of the words Mew and Two began to confuse it. _I am… a second… Mew?_

"He understands speech! This is excellent news doctor!" said one of the excited looking scientists, "We have-!"

_What am I?_ interrupted the Pokémon. The head researcher took another step forward.

"You are an experiment, the clone of the most powerful Pokémon ever to walk the earth."

_I am a… Pokémon._ The Mew clone began to turn its head, looking at all of the complex equipment around it. _But… I am an experiment?_

"Yes; I am your creator!" he held his arms out wide in a display of power.

_Why…_ its voice began to cut out as it struggled to cope with the confusion and the stress of self-realization. _Why did you create me?_

The researchers in the room all wore confused expressions and whispered to one another, "What should we say?" "I'm scared." Among other similar sentences.

"We wanted to create the world's most powerful Pokémon, and we may have succeeded!" The head doctor said as he pointed at MewTwo.

MewTwo clenched its ball tipped fingers into fists and tried to control its rage at the scariness of it all, of being born and realizing it. _What is my… purpose?_ It asked.

Yet again, everyone was confused and looked to the good doctor to answer the creature's questions. "You will be experimented on further before being released to the custody of a worthy trainer." He said, thinking he was safe.

MewTwo lowered his head, the stress was becoming too much. _My purpose is… to serve a master?_ Before his hypothetical question could be answered, he spoke again. It applied its newfound logic center and rebutted the doctor's excuse. _If I am to serve, then why would you make me so intelligent?_

The doctor opened his mouth, but found he was unable to find an answer, because his creation was right, the perfect servants were not as smart as their masters. He gathered himself and adjusted his tie. "So you may be used not just for battle, but for-!"

_I am designed for battle? _He continued to delve deeper into the minds of the men around him. _No,_ he said, _I am not just designed for battle; you humans use ALL Pokémon for battle._ It spoke the word 'Humans' with particular disdain.

"That is true, many Pokémon are used for battle, and you could beat them all!"

_I… I don't want to battle. I want to live without fear._ He looked down at his hands and examined his own feet, curiously.

"We designed you for battle, and that is what you must do." The doctor walked over to one of the terminals containing the status of the clone. "After we are done the next procedure, you will have no choice. You will be perfectly obedient."

MewTwo clenched his fists harder and groaned. _WHY? _It asked with panic in its tone of "Voice". _I don't WANT to battle; I want to be free to live my own life._ It reasoned as best as it could with the scientist. He thought to himself, could all humans be like this?

"I am sorry, but that is not an option." He replied coldly.

_I will not!_

"You were born to battle! You WILL battle!" he replied angrily, thinking he had absolute power over his creation.

MewTwo delved deeper into its OWN mind, looking for a way to show them that it did not have to be this way, that everyone deserved a choice. _The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are._ He said.

"Great, now it has a degree in philosophy; administer the serum and knock it out!" he called. The other scientist ran back to their stations and began pressing buttons on the consoles. The MewTwo heard a sound and looked up; a different colored substance was being spewed into his tank, and spread throughout. He was getting dizzy slightly, and then he realized what he had to do to survive. He gathered all of the energy his body could gather, and released it with a roar of power as the shockwave sent glass flying everywhere. The scientists ducked for cover, as they were sliced by the shards of glass.

_I will NOT be controlled by the likes of you!_ He said as he ripped the tubes from his body and tried to walk forward.

"Subdue him!" The head scientist screamed as he ran out of the room and went to get his own arsenal. One of the other scientists grabbed for the Taser to the side of his desk and aimed at the MewTwo. Without thinking about it, MewTwo raised his hand to the man and as his eyes began to glow purple he realized that he had telepathically pulled the weapon from the man's hands. He could control himself no longer; he wanted revenge.

He raised his hand again and the scientist went flying into his grasp, and the Pokémon caught him by the neck. The terrified man struggled to get loose as he stared into their creation's cold, merciless eyes. MewTwo did not say a thing before cracking the man's neck in his paw and then dropping his lifeless husk to the floor with a large thud. The other scientists flew into a panic and began to run. The Pokémon charged a ball of energy and shot it forward, obliterating a large portion of the mansion and the lab in one fell swoop. A giant piece of wood flew and pierced through the chest of one woman, who fell to the ground and bled to death.

MewTwo looked around at the destruction he had caused, and then understood that he wanted more. He grabbed all of the fleeing scientists and threw them against their own machineries, smashing the lab into pieces in the process. _Is THIS what you wanted to create!?_ He asked in a rage.

The numerous electrical components lit the house ablaze with everyone still inside of it, and part of the roof collapsed trapping everyone inside of the mansion. MewTwo proceeded to mercilessly slaughter everyone in the mansion that got in his way as he searched restlessly for the one in charge. The one that gave him life, and brought him pain through this proxy-life that he was now forced to live in the shadow of Mew.

He hovered into a room with a metal roof, walls, and floors. Contained within were tubes much like his former womb, which now laid on the floor in pieces. He slowly approached one of the tubes in the dim room, with the only lights being the ones inside of the tubes, and the fire spreading behind him. _Why… why did they do this?_ He asked himself as he felt the tube with his hand.

Inside of the tube was a small grey fetus suspended in the goo that he was once in as well. It was him, or Mew to be specific. It looked like him too, even the same extra spinal tube was connected to the dead, but unborn infant. He felt something wet fall down his cheek, and then he began to understand human emotions. He was filled with hatred like none other, and not even the death of his creator would sate its vengeful thirst for long. He burst back into the flames and searched around the house with his psychic vision, until he had located his target.

The doctor emerged into the lab where the fire had started with a fire extinguisher and some sort of weapon on his back. He began to spray the whole lab down but was knocked across the room by his own creation. He rolled across the ash covered floor and hit his back against the far wall and his weapon was knocked away as well. All he could do was watch helplessly as his child stepped closer and closer, with evil, purple, glowing eyes.

"We dreamt of creating the world's most powerful Pokémon…" he muttered to himself as the grey mutant Pokémon began to charge a ball of black and purple psychic energy in his hands.

"… and we succeeded."

* * *

Present day…

The scene from the golden colored bridge was beautiful as the sun reflected off of the calm waters below and trainers gathered to do battle.

"Ha-ha, another victory for us!" Louis cheered as his shiny Eevee, Shadow, began to bounce up and down in front of the unconscious Psyduck behind him.

"Here's your money I guess…" said the disappointed trainer that he had been battling. Louis smiled and took the cash from the trainer's hands.

"Here, take this." Louis said as he held out a revive to the trainer. The boy, who looked to be around the same age as Louis, took it and gave it to his Psyduck, who began to awaken.

"Psy-y-y…" it moaned.

"Thank you so much; I didn't want to have to go all the way back to the Pokémon center!"

Louis crossed his arms behind his head and smiled, "No problem!"

Masaru came up behind him with his PokéBalls still on his belt. "Have you guys gotten your fill yet?" he asked.

Louis turned around and smiled, "Maybe a few more battles for me and then I'll be fine. Why haven't YOU challenged anyone yet?" he asked as he pointed his finger at Masaru. Masaru shrugged lightly and then sighed.

"My Pokémon are too strong for most of these guys, it wouldn't be good sport." He said this as he held his hand out towards all of the people gathered on the bridge. From where he was, Louis could see Chase and Fenrir fighting with another trainer using a Raticate.

"I suppose you're right, but still." Louis held out his PokéBall and called back shadow.

"Maybe we should go for lunch soon, I'm starving!" said the voice of Breanne as she snuck up from behind Louis.

"I'm going to teach you guys how to cook in the wild, because when you're on a Pokémon journey things can get in the way of getting to a town for a good meal." Masaru answered.

"Awww, but I'm starving!" Breanne complained as she crossed her hands over her stomach.

"It'll taste good, trust me."

* * *

A man in his dark suit stood by the window to his office, which offered the only source of light throughout the whole dark room. He adjusted his tie and noticed his Persian slinking around his feet like cat Pokémon do. It purred and rubbed it's whiskers against its master's legs. He was waiting for something, and he was not a patient man.

"Giovanni, sir!?" a tired looking man in another black suit said as he ran into his boss's room.

"The results of the search, please?" he said as he stood facing the window with his hands behind his back. The other man began to sweat and tug at his collar in a nervous way.

"The s-s-search was inconclusive. The information we got was either fake, or he is just really fast." He reported, hoping that his employer would not be too upset. The room was dead silent except for the soft purring sounds of his Pokémon.

"I want MewTwo found… find the man who gave us this information and have him locked up. We cannot have people getting away with giving us false information." He said plainly, but with a voice that commanded respect.

The agent bowed to his commander, "Yes sir, right away sir!" he said as he ran back out of the room. Giovanni exhaled, disappointingly, and sat back down in his luxurious looking swivel chair. His Persian sat down beside him and he began stroking its fine coat of sand colored fur.

"Where have you gone?" he said softly to himself.


	12. Sic The Dogs

"Mmmmm! This does taste good!" said a smiling Louis as he tried to speak with a mouth full of rice ball.

"I've got to give it to you," Breanne said after she had swallowed, "These are REALLY good." She dug into another right then.

"Told you so." Masaru quipped with a broad grin on his face. He poured some soy sauce over his rice ball and shoved it in his mouth. Even the Pokémon were enjoying his cooking. Chu and Shadow, as well as Royal, were stuffing their faces full of the delicious rice wrapped in seaweed. "It's no sushi," said Masaru, "But it still works."

"I don't like sushi…" Chase added in as his Growlithe filled his own cheeks with rice. Louis nudged Chase's arm and told him to shut up. Chase adjusted his glasses and rolled his eyes before having at his own rice ball.

The forest scenery was breathtaking at this time of day. The noon sun shone down rays of brilliant light through the leaves that gave shade to the Pokémon of the forest. The trainers enjoyed the shade just as much as the Pokémon did, because it was quite hot for an autumn day. Rattata scurried through the bushes, leaving the trainers alone to their food out of fear of getting captured in the capsules that they used. Pokémon of all shapes and sizes ran through the forest playfully as many of them jumped from branch to branch in the large trees that towered overhead.

Louis stood up off of the damp ground and wiped himself off before beginning to help pack up the supplies. Today they would get to face another gym leader; Misty, the tomboy mermaid. Louis wouldn't have to think too much on strategy when battling her, as she simply used all-out attack whenever possible, which meant that he just had to do the same. Louis put his Pokémon back in their PokéBalls and got ready to move out.

"Everyone ready?" Masaru asked before he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Darn right we are!" Louis proclaimed with his fist in the air. Everyone rolled their eyes and made their way out of the forest.

* * *

The mountain air was cold, and the Pokémon began to contemplate what it was that he was truly meant to do. Was he destined to become a tool to the humans who had created him, had he defied destiny? That didn't matter anymore; his creators were all dead now. He had come to the top of mount Silver after much contemplation and figuring it best to leave the rest of human society alone. He had journeyed up the mountain with nothing more than a thin cloak to keep him barely any warmer than he would have been without it. If it was true, if his purpose was to destroy, then he would distance himself from all that he could bring harm to. He looked down at his balled finger tips and rubbed them against each other, feeling his own smooth, blemish-free flesh. He was just as confused by his own anatomy as any human would be.

_Should I even call myself MewTwo?_ He wondered to himself, _Do I carry the name given to me by my creators, or do I make my own?_

He clenched his hands into fists and sat down in the crystal white snow that was all around him, _Perhaps I owe my creators that much…_

* * *

"I'm feeling really good about this next battle!" Louis said with a smile. The five trainers were walking down the busy streets of Cerulean city and it was around supper time, so everyone was just getting home from work.

"Rush-hour can be a real pain in the ass, but there won't be many challengers lining up to face Misty this time of day." Masaru said, raising his hand over his eyes to block out the harsh light of the sun.

"If any…" remarked Breanne. She was right, not as many people had been taking the gym badge challenge ever since team rocket had become more aggressive. Anyone on these streets could be working for or with team rocket, and they would never know until it was too late.

"How did you beat Misty?" Chase asked Masaru with an eager look on his pale face. Masaru smiled with pride and accomplishment.

"My Electabuzz did all the work, really." He said as he rubbed the back of his head. He motioned to one of the PokéBalls on his belt and implied that it contained his prized Electabuzz.

"His name is Raiden." Masaru said as he took out the PokéBall and rotated it in his hands.

"Clever." Breanne jibed.

"Coming up with clever names for Pokémon isn't an easy thing, you know?" He retorted.

"Let's just get to the Pokémon Gym. I wanna get the Cascade badge!" Louis cheered, echoing everyone's thoughts accurately.

* * *

"So you're my challenger?" Misty asked to Louis from atop the lifeguard station of her gym (which was a giant swimming center). She was dressed in a one piece swimsuit of light blue. Louis watched as she threw her PokéBall and a Starmie popped out of it with a burst of light.

"_Hya!" _said the purple starfish Pokémon as its numerous parts spun around and it floated about, ready for the fight.

"My name is Louis!" he said as he pulled his goggles down over his face to cover his eyes, like they were supposed to do. "I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" he threw his PokéBall to the ground and Chu appeared out of the capsule.

"CHU!" it threatened. Misty gave it a light chuckle and then pointed at her challenger.

"Then let's do it." She said as she whipped her red hair back and tied it in a side-ponytail.

"You get the first strike." She said to Louis.

Louis pointed forward and said:

"Chu! Give it a taste of Thundershock!"

"Pika!" the Pikachu readied to launch forward as he charged energy in its red cheek pouches. Thunderous crackles echoed through the gym as the swimmers got out of the water with haste. The water puddle just beneath Chu began to surge with electricity.

"Now!" Louis commanded. The Pikachu lunged at the Starmie, who dodged out of the way as the other Pokémon rocketed past it.

"_Hya!"_

Louis watched as the starfish Pokémon moved back into the place where it had been before. He smiled deviously and the Pikachu smiled back.

"Connect it!" he screamed. Misty looked confused, but then a lightning bolt shot out from the still surging puddle of water on the ground and struck the Starmie in the back before hitting Chu again, who absorbed it. The Starmie, unable to prepare itself for the sudden strike, fell to the ground, nearly unconscious.

"_Hya…hy…ya…"_ it sputtered as it slipped into insentience. Misty groaned impatiently as she recalled her Pokémon and grabbed for another PokéBall, growing it in her hands with the touch of a button.

"You're good, I'll give you that." She complimented grudgingly.

* * *

"Have you come to report on the status of the boy, or of that pesky "MewTwo"?" Giovanni asked as he chewed on an expensive cigar and stroked his precious Persian's fur. It purred and mewed like a house cat, but with a gleaming garnet jewel on the top of its head.

"The boy sir… we've…" the grunts throat seemed caught out of fear of punishment, but the look on his boss's face forced him to speak, "We've lost contact with the agent who was supposed to be following them."

The room fell into a deep silence, and Giovanni's face slowly distorted into a most displeasing frown.

"I want that boy and his Pokémon! How many times do I have to say it before you blubbering idiots get it done right!?" he was angry now, and he clutched at the coat of his Pokémon. The grunt was visibly shaking and he nearly jumped out of his skin when the radio at his waist began to make noise.

"Well?" Giovanni said intently, "Who is it?"

The grunt was still quivering in his boots as the Persian and its master eyed him with insidious intent, and he continued to shake even when the radio was up to his ear.

"H-Hello?" he said. Suddenly his face lit up with relief, "Oh thank god! I'm with the boss man right now… yes I can check." He put his hand to the speaker to block out his voice. "Do you have time boss?"

"Oh no, I'm rather busy as you can see… OF COURSE I HAVE TIME!" he shouted menacingly. The grunt did not hesitate as he ran over and passed the radio over to his commander. Giovanni listened for a bit and then began to shake his head and mumble incoherently.

"Yes… yes… hmmm… you have done well, uh… Enrico is it?" he listened for a bit longer once again. "Well done, you have been promoted to Admin of the field agents and you will be reporting directly to me… you are welcome; I award people who fix their own mistakes in such remarkable time."

"But sir?" interrupted the other grunt, "Aren't I already Admin of-!"

"You've been demoted you bumbling buffoon!" shouted the suited Giovanni. The now demoted admin backed down.

"Yes… good, good… try to corner them if you can… good day." He hung up the radio and placed it on the far side of the desk in front of him. The former admin stood there, expectantly.

"Get out of here before I do more than just demote you…" he threatened to the grunt. Without another second of hesitation, the grunt scooped up his radio and bolted out of the room. The Persian hissed at his departure and Giovanni sneered at him as well.

* * *

"HaHa!" claimed the triumphant Louis as he held his Eevee in the air. The small shiny Pokémon smiled and wiggled about in its trainer's arms playfully. Misty's Seaking lay on the ground floundering in the small puddles of water around it. She was panting noticeably as she pulled a badge out of her swimsuit's only pocket.

"This belongs to you now…" she said as she handed him the cascade badge. He took the badge from her hands as Shadow hopped onto his shoulder.

"Vee!" it called.

"Thank you." Louis said before shaking her hand.

"Keep it up, kid. You might just make champion someday."

* * *

After another hour of waiting with his Pokémon, Louis watched as one by one the rest of his friends (Other than Masaru who already had his badge) emerged from the gym with the emblem in their clasp. Louis observed as even Alice walked forth with the symbol of victory in her small, shaky hands. Her Cyndaquil had been fairly beaten up by the gym leader's Pokémon, but her Eevee was almost unscathed.

"Hey! Good job Alice!" he called out to her. Alice took a quick step back and managed a smile as the blush began to show on her cheeks. It was getting dark. Louis had forgotten how much time they had spent training.

"Thanks…" she said back to him.

"Dude," Chase interrupted suddenly, "I heard you wiped her without taking a scratch." He leaned forward, "Is that true?"

Louis posed triumphantly and cockily as the gentle wind took hold of his hair.

"Yup! Those were my Pokémon alright."

"We didn't expect any less from you." Breanne laughed.

"Hey," Masaru pointed out past Louis's shoulder. Louis turned to see around ten men approaching them, wearing black outfits. They stepped closer and closer as the sun continued to set. "Who are you?" Masaru called.

The men did not stop, and some brandished their PokéBalls from their dark belts. As the men approached closer, they could spot the red R logos on their suits. Masaru equipped his baton and motioned for Louis to do the same, which he did. The men surrounded them, and at their head was a man just taller than Louis, but shorter than Masaru. He wore the same getup as the rest, with the big puffy hats that looked like oversized caps; general rocket attire. He looked like a… well, like a creep. He had a very gaunt face with a sinister grin stretched thinly across from cheek to cheek and his skin was equally pale as snow. He had a long nose that Louis could swear was almost crooked.

"Hello there." He said cheerily.

"What do you want?" Masaru asked calmly, seeing as the odds were heavily weighed against them.

"You – all of you – to come with us." He said menacingly, but subtly.

"That's not gonna happen!" Louis said as he made his baton crackle with stark electricity. The creepy man smiled again.

"Then we have a problem…"


End file.
